Downfall
by Kaku
Summary: It started with a familiar scent and a shadow from Nami's past before it all came snowballing down. Nami will go to great lengths to protect her nakama, or will she just end up being their downfall? *Ch.3*
1. The Scent of

**AN:** Well, I'm finally on spring break and I've been working on this story idea for a couple of weeks now. This chapter isn't quite what I wanted, but I'm not sure how else to tweak it. The fun stuff doesn't start for a while, so I apologize lack of action/development for now / However, I would like to thank anyone and everyone who will give this story a chance and reviews/constructive criticism is always appreciated :)

**Additional Notes**: Just to be clear, this story will be a Luffy x Nami story, overall. There may be other pairings, but I'm certain that Luffy x Nami is the primary couple of this story. Sorry if that's not your cup of tea (well, not that sorry). However it's not going to be very lovey-dovey or fluffy and they're not going to get together right away either. Where would the fun be in that? :P The rating may also go up. The romance will develop slowly so right now it's mainly Nami-centric. Last, but not least, I'd like to address the reviews from my one-shot **The First**. First of all, thank you to everyone who was kind enough to review it and sorry to respond to their reviews here. 

**Seltap** thank you for being the first to review :) and I'm glad you enjoyed it You're a great writer yourself! **SwordsofFury** I'm glad you enjoyed it :3 **LuffyxRuby** Thank you** Kinky-Nami-Lass**, sorry that was an intentional thing. You can make up your own scenario :) I felt like making it a little ambiguous. **EudaimonArisornae**, I'm glad you liked it. I'm really glad you thought I did LuNa justice :D And I had fun with the Zoro-Nami dialogue too--they're so fun together **Saint Dezzie**, aw thank you! As long a you enjoyed reading it, I'm happy. I agree, who wouldn't want to be his first kiss? As long as he doesn't have any food in his mouth at the time... **wheathermangohanssj4**, ah I hope I spelled that right--really? That's true, she isn't really someone to get jealous in the series... **mikhail**, Really? As long as you enjoyed it and it wasn't a gianormous waste of time--since I know it was pretty long. 

Again, thank you to everyone who read **The First** and thank you in advance for those who will give this a chance as well! Above all, I hope you enjoy it :) Here we go!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own One Piece.

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**Downfall**

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**Prologue: _The Scent of..._**

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"Land ahoy!"

It was hard not to hear the jubilant cry from the ball of energy that constantly bounced around the deck, his infectious joy spreading out towards the rest of the crew. That is, except for one.

"We heard you the first time, Luffy." She said shortly, the only one unaffected by his usual bout of enthusiasm. "We have eyes. We can see it ourselves."

"Land, land, land," Luffy began chanting in a mantra, his voice growing louder with every word as Usopp and Chopper joined in to the chant. Luffy was grinning from ear to ear and jumped onto the upper deck, one first pumped into the air as he shouted once more, "_Land ah_-"

"_We heard you_!" Nami shouted as she placed a well aimed punch at his head, sending him face first into the wall next to the door leading towards the women's quarters just as Robin opened the door. The older woman took in the spectacle with mild surprise, a cup of coffee steaming in one hand and a book held in the other.

"If you have so much energy, do something useful!" Nami snapped, stepping onto Luffy's head for good measure before turning to Chopper and Usopp. Both squeaked in horror to have gained Nami's attention and clung to each other for dear life as she burned them with her glare. "Clean the decks, scrape the barnacles off the sides of the ship, draw up fresh water--if you have the energy to jump around yelling nonsense, then you can put it to good use!"

"Am I making myself perfectly clear?" Nami snarled as she dug her heel against her captain's temple.

"Y-yes ma'am. I'm sorry!" Luffy stuttered through his swollen lips and bloody nose, most of his reply being muffled by the wooden deck. Nami lifted her foot, apparently satisfied with his answer before turning her gaze to Chopper and Usopp. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"Yes, ma'am!" All three boys saluted before scrambling away to find something to occupy themselves and save from being subject to their navigator's wrath once more.

"Oi, oi, what are you doing to the ship?" Franky rebuked Nami as he climbed up the steps, inspecting the damage she caused from her earlier attack against Luffy. Nami slowly turned to face him, her eyes narrowed as Luffy, Usopp and Chopper appeared behind her making throat cutting gestures. Franky glanced up, his gaze focusing on the others, oblivious to the hole he was digging himself into. "Ah? What are you guys doing?"

Nami turned around sharply, causing the three to stiffen and scatter once more.

"Look at this mess! Do you know how long it's going to take me... to... fix..." Franky trailed off when he caught sight of Nami's expression. 

"What did you say?" 

_Demon_. "N-nothing." He mumbled before turning away, breaking out into a sweat as he felt her gaze continue to burn a hole into his back, biting down hard on a nail he had placed in his mouth as he set to fixing the damage to the wall. 

A particularly loud snore from the ship's lower deck diverted Nami's attention. It seemed her anger had reached new heights as she spotted her next victim. Every step she took gained the attention of everyone in the vicinity, save for her target who snored on blissfully unaware of the rude awakening he was about to receive.

Zoro let out a shout and doubled over as he was awoken with a large bump forming atop his head. He raised his gaze high enough to identify the culprit, although he could have already guessed. "Nami, you bitch, what the fu-"

"You... Don't you get enough sleep during the night?" Nami hissed, her fist still tightened above Zoro's head. "Here you are, lazing about while_some_ of us are working without rest to keep this ship afloat. Just looking at you irritates me."

"_Ah_?!" Zoro stood up abruptly, his eyes narrowed as he towered over Nami, but it held little affect as the navigator's anger continued to radiate off in almost tangible waves of silent fury. "Where the hell do you get off? Ordering me around like your subordinate--I'm not the same as that perverted cook-"

Zoro was interrupted as he sensed the attack and raised his arm to block the oncoming kick. He caught it in time and his arm strained against the force of the attack. "I should have known you were the source of Nami-san's aggravation."

"You want to say something too, target-brow?" Zoro snarled, his temper already shortened by Nami's earlier unjustified attack.

"I already did, didn't I, moss head?" Sanji countered as he continued to apply pressure with his leg. "Or is there too much shit in your ears to hear me properly?"

"Maybe I would be able to hear you if you weren't sucking on your cancer sticks all the damn time."

"Maybe you should take out that seaweed covering your ears, marimo." 

"You want to fight, Cyclops?" Zoro bared his teeth as he placed his free hand on the hilt of one of his swords.

"Bring it, you shitty swordsman." Sanji snapped back, biting down on his cigarette as he lifted his leg from Zoro's arm and raised it high in the air.

"This isn't being productive!" Nami interrupted, slamming her fists against their faces and sending them crashing into the grassy deck, dirt kicking up in all directions. "You're fighting is just going to cause more damage to the ship!"

"Oi, oi." Franky and Usopp made slapping motions in the air. _The one causing the most damage is _you.

"Now make yourselves useful and get to work!" Nami ordered the two fallen warriors, both of which only twitched in their shallows graves in response.

"Nami's a demon." Usopp mumbled from the other side of the ship, still in mid-preparation of securing his harness to clean the sides of the ship. 

"Demon!" Chopper agreed in horror as he stood next to Usopp. 

Nami turned to them, causing them to freeze up with a scream building in their throats, whimpers already escaping their lips. The corner of her mouth curled up in a snarl as she fixed them all with a glare. "And one last thing."

"None of you are leaving this ship until I see some results. If you do escape," Nami narrowed her eyes, her voice dropping an octave and dripping with the promise of retribution. "_I'll kill you_."

_Demon_! Was the single resonating thought as Nami stomped across the deck to the other side of the ship, heading towards the library on the upper deck.

"Are you planning on working on your maps?" Robin questioned from her lawn chair, looking up from her book when Nami stopped at the bottom of the steps. "You've been working quite hard for the past few days."

"Yeah, I've been falling behind with everything's that's happening. I wanted to do as much as I could before something else happened." Nami scowled. "Because it seems our crew is a magnet for trouble."

"I think Luffy would refer to it as adventures rather than trouble." Robin chuckled, causing Nami's scowl to deepen further. "Perhaps you should rest instead."

"No, I'm fine." Nami said shortly as she began heading up the steps. 

"Yohoho! You seem to be in an unpleasant mood today, Nami-chan!" The girl in question had to bite her lip to keep from shrieking in surprise. "Perhaps if you allow me to see your panties, we would be able to remedy your unpleasantries-"

"_Who would let you see that_?" Nami shouted as she sent the skeleton across the deck. "Every one of them-!"

"I think he has a point." Robin said from over her mug of coffee, fixing Nami with her penetrating gaze. The younger girl couldn't help but feel unnerved as she took another step up the stairs, as if to create as much distance as possible to escape Robin's gaze. "You've been quite short with everyone. I really think you should get some rest."

"I told you I'm fine!" Nami grounded out, her nerves fraying as she kept herself from shouting as she slapped the railing of the steps with an open palm. "Just watch them for now. Please, Robin."

Before Robin could say another word, Nami had already stepped onto the deck and disappeared into the library. The older woman's gaze followed Nami's stiff form, wincing as the door to the library was slammed shut. A sigh escaped her as she took a sip of her coffee, placing it back down on the table beside her as she gazed back at her book.

As she shared her quarters with the young navigator and being one of the most observant members of the crew, it was easy to tell that Nami had not been sleeping well. Her skin was pale and dark circles had formed beneath her eyes and often Robin found the room to be empty whenever she would return. She found it strange as she herself was absent from the room as she chose to read in her free time which usually lasted her well into the night, but for the past few days she found that Nami would never return to their quarters for the duration of the night. Robin had also found that Nami had been skipping meals, usually breakfast, finding her in the library instead when she went in search of a book. She was greeted by the sight of the younger woman hunched over her desk with a hand tangled in her orange locks and her quill tapping against the wood in frustration. It didn't take much effort to figure out the reasons behind Nami's unusually short temper, but it was a wonder of why Nami was working so diligently on her maps when she was clearly pushing her limit.

Robin decided not to dwell on the subject. It was apparent that Nami was reluctant to share her reasons and it would do no good to force it out of her. Robin believed that Nami would tell her when she was ready, if she ever desired to. With that thought in mind, Robin focused on the passage she had left off. It didn't take long for the others to forget about Nami's earlier rampage and soon an hour had passed before they were within minutes of docking. Excitement was once again building on the ship. 

Nami chose that moment to appear, but they were all too caught up in their anticipation to bat an eye, that is until Nami announced she would be distributing their allowances. Nami first assigned everyone different duties, most of which were obvious. Sanji was in charge of food supplies, Chopper was in charge of medical supplies and so on before she gave them the appropriate amount to buy what they needed and extra their own personal shopping.

"No one goes alone." Nami said firmly, her eyes fixed on their captain as she placed his allowance into his eager hands. "No one."

"Yup!" Luffy agreed, but his grin faltered when Nami continued to hold his share. "What?"

"And don't cause any trouble." She said as she continued to gaze at him evenly.

"I won't." Luffy frowned. "Why are you only saying this to me?"

"No reason." Nami released the money with a wave of her hand. "Oh and Brook will stay here with me."

"What? Why?" Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper exclaimed in indignation. Brook, however, merely took a sip of his tea. 

"Think about it!" Nami frowned. "He's a walking, talking skeleton--even on the grand line that's strange! We're already conspicuous enough as it is, but we don't want to cause a mass panic before we even get our supplies."

"But that's not fair! So Brook can't come on the island at all?"

"Yohoho, that's all right! As long as I can see Nami-chan's panties, I'll be content with staying on the ship-"

"I'm not saying he can't go on the island at all." Nami said, Brook's skull cracking against the railing of the ship from her punch. "Just for today, since we don't have anything to disguise him with. That's why today _you_ will go find him something and he can go on the island _late_r."

"Oh, so that's how it is!" They said together, including Brook as he bleed from the area where his nose would of been if he still had his flesh or if he had been alive for that matter (never mind the fact that he shouldn't have been bleeding at all, being a skeleton).

In a matter of minutes they had lowered anchor and were ready to go ashore. 

"_Hey! What did I just tell you?_" Nami shouted as Luffy had sprung himself off the boat and was running at full speed, his laughter fading into the distance. Nami knew it was useless, placing her hands over her face as she groaned. "Why do I even bother?"

"Don't worry, Nami-san." Sanji placated her as he dropped the ladder over the side of the ship. "We'll keep an eye on him."

"Please." Nami sighed as one by one they climbed down the ladder. 

"Nami-chan," Nami looked up at, just as Chopper disappeared over the edge, the last to leave the ship. "Why don't you go with them? I'll be fine on the ship by myself, that is, unless you really wanted to keep me company, yohoho!"

"No, it's fine. I still need to finish up some work." Nami sighed as she pushed herself from the side of the ship, taking a few unsteady steps as her body seemed to feel heavy and her vision spun for a moment. "Ah."

"Are you all right?" Brook asked in concern, the others already disappearing from view.

"Yeah, don't worry. Sorry, but could you watch the ship while I finish up? Just call me if you need anything." Nami mumbled, a hand to her forehead as she tried to rub the exhaustion from her eyes and slowly made her way back up the steps. Brook watched her silently for a moment before placing himself right below the railing outside of the library.

"Why don't you leave the door open?" He suggested just as Nami had opened it. "I can play you some music to help you concentrate."

"Ah, no. I think that would actually be too distracting." Nami said as she started to close the door.

"Yohohoho! Don't be silly! Music helps to stimulate the mind! And I'm sure that a cool breeze now and then would be refreshing rather than being enclosed in that stuffy room!" 

"I guess." Nami hesitantly agreed. Then before she entered the library she turned to him and said, "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it, yohoho!" Brook laughed as he went in search of his violin.

Nami smiled after him before heading in and sitting at her desk. Notes and books were spread out over her desk and stacked near her chair as the quill lay across her most recent map, still only one third complete. She stretched her arms high above her head, moaning as she felt something crack and let her arms fall limp, leaning back in her chair for a moment as she thought back to Robin's earlier suggestions to retire to her room for the afternoon.

_No, I can't_, Nami thought as she straightened back up in her chair, raising her hands to slap herself on her cheeks lightly. _I need to finish this._

In truth, however, Nami didn't have to do anything. It was true that it seemed that there were so many adventures and so much interference that her research kept being pushed back along with her dream, but that wasn't the real reason that kept her from sleeping at night.

_"Give me your hand!" A voice angry and full of malice._

_"No!" Another voice filled with absolute terror and desperation._

It was the nightmares. And her memories. She never could remember the details, but she would wake up in a cold sweat, the feeling of dread and terror still clutching at her wildly beating heart. She had forced herself from the warmth of her bed, throwing open the door to the quarter's she shared with Robin and shivered as the cool night air hit her clammy, sweat-covered skin. She would stumble to the railing and clutch at the structure only to back away as her stomach flipped at the action. She wasn't sure why she was so frightened when she couldn't even recall the images that had manifested in her unconscious mind. However, she did know that it had shook her to her very core and that was enough to keep her from returning to the safety and warmth of her room. 

She had forgotten about it as the day continued and she saw the faces of her _nakama_, the images already fading, although in the back of her mind it still bothered her to be recalling such terrible memories. Never had she been plagued by recollections from her past ever since they had liberated her village and she had rejoined the Strawhat crew. She also believed she never would, but the night have proven her wrong. 

Once again she found herself waking in a cold sweat and shaking when she bolted upright in her bed. She stumbled out onto the deck again, oblivious to the chill in the night air as she struggled to breath, clutching at her night shirt as she pressed her back to the wall, sliding down when her legs gave out from under her.

It was now the third night that she had forgone sleep. Perhaps, she thought if she worked herself to exhaustion she would be too tired to dream. It was a dangerous thing to chance on, especially with the kind of life she lead being a pirate (and not just any pirate), but it frustrated her to actually be in fear of closing her eyes when she couldn't even recall what it was that instilled such strong feelings of terror and unease.

Music drifted into the room, stirring Nami from her thoughts and she couldn't help but smile as the soft melody helped to sooth her frayed nerves. She raised her quill, reaching to the ink pot to finish her map. It really was such a pleasant melody, she thought as her eyes became hooded and the light seemed to become dimmer.

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Nami's nose twitched in the slightest as the room filled with a sweet, fragrant scent. Her eyes fluttered and her hands clenched together, jerking suddenly and knocking the ink pot aside, spilling it's contents not only on Nami's hand which trickled down her wrist, but also over her map and splattered over her notes. She let out a string of curses as she moved away, trying to avoid staining her clothes as she reached for the ink bottle.

_That Brook! He tricked me, didn't he?_ Nami momentarily thought as she salvaged what she could of her notes and logs, dropping them aside. She looked at her map, now nothing but a giant blob of black ink staining the wooden desk through the parchment. At least it seemed her plan to work herself to exhaustion so that she would be too tired to dream had worked. She had to have been asleep for at least a couple of hours and she had not awoken in a cold sweat or with the feeling of dread. That could have been seen as the cloud's silver lining, but--

The scent assaulted her senses once more, bringing Nami back to the present as she jerked around towards the open door, her eyes wide and full of alarm. 

_That's..._

The scent was getting stronger and Nami felt herself being pulled to the source. The door was still wide open and she noticed the music had stopped, replaced by the sound of incessant chattering and incoherent shouting--the others must have already returned. However, Nami's mind was focused elsewhere as she stepped out on to the deck, the ink bottle still on its side and ink steadily dripping off the sides of the desk and onto the wooden floor.

The first person she encountered was Sanji, who had to side step to avoid her sudden turn. Raising the tray in his hand high above their heads, he regained his balance and fixing Nami with his usual burning, passionate stare he offered the specially made drink to her. 

"Nami-san, what good timing! I've just completed your afternoon drink with the ingredients I bought today. It'll help enhance your radiant beauty and your focus with the right amount of citrus to entice your brilliant mind-" 

Sanji was unable to complete his words of flattery, stunned when he felt Nami grab his tie and pull him towards her with a slight tug, the drink slipping precariously to one side of the tray. His jaw dropped as Nami tilted her head, her eyes closed in concentration and her lips parting unconsciously. 

_Could this be... ?!_

"Oh, Nami-san! You're so bold!" Sanji exclaimed, his passion burning hotter than ever as the drink crashed to the ground and he spread out his arms, his lips exaggeratedly pursed as he lunged forward. Nami opened her eyes just in time to see the action and quickly side stepped him, watching him with a mixture of indignation and alarm.

Usopp was staring up at them, a fork in his mouth as he arched a brow at the two, although he could only see Sanji's lower half, his face implanted in the wall of the library. "What are you two doing?"

"That's what I want to know." Nami said in irritation as she narrowed her eyes at Sanji. The scent, however, brought her back to the present and she looked at the rest of the crew, stepping down onto the grassy deck.

_It was pretty strong on Sanji, but I can still smell it even here._

"Why..." Nami began to ask, stepping towards Franky with a sniff, who arched a brow at her strange antics.

"What?" But Nami was already walking towards Usopp, who instantly stiffened as he recalled Nami's earlier rampage. 

"Wh-what?" He stuttered, chills running down his spine as Nami leaned close, her eyes once again closed in concentration before she pulled back, frowning.

"Even you two..." 

"Even you two... What?" Usopp frowned back, but Nami was already heading towards Zoro, who had his back to her. Zoro was taking one of the large crates from Luffy as he handed one over the side of the ship, but seeing as there were three more to bring up, he decided it would be better to do all three at once. Usopp's eyes widened as he watched in horror as the three remaining creates were tossed into the air and in Zoro's direction. The swordsman had a similar expression to Usopp's, stepping back enough that Nami had to stop, tilting her head up to see the three crates ascending high into the air and hovering for a moment before they began to descend towards _Sunny's_ deck.

"Ah! What the hell are you doing? You better not let those hit the deck!" Franky shouted from the other of side of the ship, snapping Nami from her transfixed gaze of the crates above them, momentarily distracted from her previous thoughts.

"Nami! What are you--_Ah, watch it_-" Usopp began to warn her.

Nami glanced back at Usopp for a split second at his sudden change in tone, but turned back just in time to have one of Zoro's swords tilted up and nearly shoved up her nose. The swordsman had managed to catch the crates without damaging the deck (too badly) but it nearly forced him to plant his face into the deck from the sudden amount of weight, shifting all three swords up as he doubled over from the unexpected force.

"Good catch, Zoro!" Luffy laughed heartily as he swung himself onto the deck, landing neatly on the top crate. Zoro lay on the ground, pushing himself back to his feet as he fixed Luffy with a glare, his jaw clenched tightly. 

"What the hell were you thinking?"

"It's better to bring it all at once, right?" Luffy grinned. "Don't worry, you caught them, didn't you?"

"I'm going to kill you, you bastard!"

In a considerable amount of pain, Nami stumbled back, holding her now bleeding nose, hissing in pain and garnering Zoro's attention.

"Ah..." Usopp mumbled, quickly stepping away and out of the vicinity of what he dubbed as the soon to be war zone. Or massacre sight.

"Nami? What are you doing?" He asked, oblivious to the fact that he was cause of her pain and crouched down next to Nami who continued to hold her hands over her face. She looked at him sharply, her hands dropping low enough to give him a good look at her bloodied nose. "What the hell?!"

"Eh? What's wrong--_AhI Nami's bleeding!_" Luffy shouted as he had hopped down from the crates, staring at the bloody mess on Nami's face in horror. "Nami's dying!"

"Ah! Doctor! Doctor!" Chopper cried out as he caught sight of the spectacle, alarmed by the blood dripping down Nami's chin and into her left hand, which was still covered in ink and now mixing together. He quickly regained his senses as he stepped closer to the bleeding girl. "Wait, that's me! Nami, are you okay?"

"What do you think?" Nami snapped, wincing at the action and the slightly nasally tone she adopted as Chopper studied her face. She fixed Luffy and Zoro with a look that could have melted ice in an instant, causing both to swallow hard and break out into a sweat. 

"It's probably not broken, but--" But Nami was no longer listening as a sudden gust of wind blew passed her ears and even through the blood clogging her sense of smell, she could _still _make out that scent. And with the addition of blood and ink, she was close to feeling nauseous.

"Why?" She murmured quietly, her hands clenching into fists, squeezing blood onto the deck.

"Nami, you're really pale!" Chopper exclaimed. "We should go to the infirmary--Ah, Nami!"

Nami's ink and blood covered hand had shot out towards Luffy, holding his vest in a vice grip as she tugged him forward. Zoro had shifted out of the way as Luffy was brought to his knees, bracing his arms on either side of Nami's legs to keep from collapsing on the girl.

"Ah, Nami, I'm sorry!" Luffy cried out automatically as he found himself face to face with his navigator, shutting his eyes in preparation of the expected hit. 

When nothing came and the grip on his vest had loosened, he chanced opening his eyes to find Nami staring at him intently. He blinked in surprise at her expression. He had expected anger and fury, but instead he found himself staring into Nami's pale face, her brows furrowed and her lips twisted in a grimace. 

"Nami?" He questioned in perplexity.

_Even Luffy... _Nami shook her head, then quickly regretted the action as the pain was renewed. She gritted her teeth, pushing herself onto her feet. She stumbled when she felt a weight attached itself to one of her hands.

"Stop, Nami! Please! We need to get you cleaned up--" Chopper began, clutching at her hand regardless of the blood now smearing on his hooves. Nami shook him off and looked over at the other side of the deck, ignoring him even as the young reindeer continued to dance around her feet in increasing agitation. Her gaze focused on Robin and Brook as their conversation drifted to her ears. She started across the grassy deck, wiping beneath her nose and across her lip with the back of her hand, smearing the blood across her face.

"Such a lovely fragrance that tickles my senses that I'm sure my nose would fall off. But I don't have a nose because I'm a skeleton, yohoho!"

"You shitty bastards, what the hell did you do to Nami-san?" Sanji yelled out, jumping from the upper deck and crushing both Luffy and Zoro into the grassy deck with the force of a locomotive, creating a large crater as clogs of dirt flew in all directions.

"_Hey! What the hell did I tell you idiots_?" Franky shouted, sending Sanji into the crater after them with a well delivered attack of his own.

Despite all the noise and commotion going on, Nami heard none of it. Only Robin's next word seemed to reach her ears at that moment.

"It seems that it's a common flower here, Lilium. I believe that's what they called it."

Another particularly strong gust of wind blew across the deck and roared in Nami's ears, clearing the remains of dust and dirt as well as overpowering the scent of blood with the fragrance of Lilium. She couldn't hear Chopper's voice or feel his insistent tugging at her blouse as he urged her to the infirmary, nor did she feel the shaking of the ship from the continuous fighting, but she could feel the sudden wave of nausea a she doubled over. Falling to her knees, consciousness was quickly leaving her and only one thing continued to resound through her mind.

_Lilium... lilium... lilies._

_"Do you want to see the island of lilies, Nami?"_

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**AN:** The Scent of... Lilium? The Scent of... Adventure? Of Danger? Hm, which one is it? Or perhaps it's a mixture of all three and more? 

I'll be placing updates on my profile, so please check if you're interested in following this story :) 


	2. The Catalyst

**AN**: Admittedly, I enjoyed writing this chapter a lot more than the first one. I'm not sure why, maybe this one had more action or because I'm beginning to explain more of the story? Either way, I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it (or maybe more)

**Thanks **to **Silverchild of the winds** What are you talking about? The rescue hasn't even begun yet :D I'm glad you liked the beginning Thank you for being my first reviewer :D **CrypticAngel** Really? I'm glad you thought I kept everyone in character, it's getting harder now that Brook's in the picture and although I'm trying to give everyone some screen time, Nami's pretty much the main focus since... well, you read the synopsis :D **layla15** Really? I'm so glad, you think it's unique, it's hard to find unique stories and I really thought the whole Nami being the one to save everyone (or just Luffy) was a bit overdone, but I couldn't help myself :D I love LuNa too! Obviously, since I'm writing this with LuNa in mind :D

**Disclaimer**: I don't own One Piece. I do own all the other characters that don't appear in One Piece. I think you can guess which ones are which :D

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**Downfall**

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**Chapter One: **_**The Catalyst**_

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_The dinghy was tossed merciless among the waves, jostling the young girl sitting inside of her fragile, wooden lifeline. The wind howled and threatened to push her right into the sea. She clung to the edges of the tiny vessel, although it did her no good when she believed that every hit sent her closer to tumbling to her watery grave. The clouds were dark and heavy, releasing tiny icicles of water that pierced her skin and matted her hair to her face, obscuring her vision and stinging her eyes. Her teeth were clenched to keep from chattering and her knuckles were turning white. _

_But even with all the noise and elements pelting down on her, she could still hear that voice. She clenched her eyes shut as a particularly strong wave slapped against the tiny vessel, drenching her in a curtain of sea water. Coughing and struggling to regain her bearings, she silently rebelled against the voice._

I won't, I won't!

_As if her answer was the final straw, the boat gave a final lurch and shot the young girl up in the air. She let out a scream, but it was cut short as her temple cracked against the wood, her hand floundering to find purchase on the dinghy, but to no avail. It slipped out of her grasp and disappeared from her sight completely as she was pushed under water. She made the mistake of opening her mouth, struggling to the surface as precious bubbles of air floated passed her fingers and out of her reach. The water pushed and pulled her deeper into its dark embrace, it was impossible to tell which way was up or down with the skies as black as the depths of the sea. Already, she felt a tightening in her chest as her limbs began to feel like lead. _

_She was drowning. She had lost._

_**Return... return... return to me.**_

* * *

Nami awoke with a startled gasp, her hands swinging wildly, clawing at her throat and chest as if something were coiled around it. Tools were knocked off the tables and a cry resounded throughout the tiny room followed by a thump and a clatter of metallic objects on the hardwood floors. Blinking rapidly Nami's hands fell to her sides, eyes wide as she touched her throat, gently rubbing at the raw skin. Her bangs were plastered to her forehead and her hands continued to tremble, her vision blurring in and out of focus.

"Nami!" The little reindeer had managed to crawl back up his favorite chair and was at her side in an instant, his doe-like eyes filled with concern as he put a hoof on her trembling hand. "Does it hurt anywhere?"

"N... n..." Nami swallowed hard, her throat surprisingly dry as she forced out the words in a hoarse whisper. "N-no."

"Here, drink this." Chopper told her gently as he offered the cup of water. Nami took it from him and drank it greedily, rivulets flowing down from the corners of her lips. She pulled the cup away, coughing as some of the liquid managed to flow down the wrong pipe. Chopper quickly grabbed the cup and rubbed her back in soothing circles. Nami continued to cough, waving him off with one hand while the other pushed away her matted hair from her eyes.

"I-I'm okay." She finally managed to tell him once her coughing had subsided.

"Nami, you haven't been sleeping well, have you? Robin said--"

"Don't worry." Nami waved him off again, avoiding his concerned look with sigh. "I've just lost track of time, working on my maps-"

"But you're not eating either!"

"What?" Nami looked at him from the corner of her eye and gave him a smile. "I'm eating."

"Just eating your tangerines for three days is not healthy!" Chopper scolded her with a frown. "You need a balanced diet--and proper rest! You know how dangerous the Grand Line is! If something ever happened to you in this state-"

"Chopper, you worry too much." Nami tilted her head to the side, smiling at him in earnest. "Besides, you guys would protect me, right? Don't worry. I'll get a lot of rest and eat dinner with you guys tonight, all right?"

"Not just tonight." Chopper corrected her with a frown. "You'll need just more than a night to recover!"

"Yes, doctor." Nami said with a smile, causing the reindeer to blush. "I promise to take it easy, then."

"Idiot! Saying things like that won't make me happy!" Chopper continued to blush, dancing around in his chair with a grin. "Idiot--Ah!"

Nami giggled as Chopper managed to dance right out of his chair before she looked back at her hands. The trembling wasn't very noticeable, but it was still there. The nightmares were starting to come into focus, but they seemed to be manifestations of fears that would be considered normal for anyone traveling in the Grand Line, she supposed.

_But why am I having them _now?_ Or at all, for that matter._

Was she beginning to fear the sea? Was she afraid of drowning or being left alone in the middle of the ocean? Why? Why now?

"Nami?" The girl in questioned quickly shook away from her thoughts, looking at Chopper, who had managed to crawl back up into his chair. He was staring at her with concern once again, but Nami quickly offered him a smile to sooth his worries.

Nami pulled off the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "I think dinner should be ready soon, don't you?"

* * *

"You guys really did it now." Sanji sneered with his cigarette clenched between his teeth as they shoveled dirt onto the newly repaired deck.

"It was an accident!" Luffy whined through his swollen lip, his right eye completely swelled shut. "And it was Zoro's fault!"

"_What_? How was I supposed to know that stupid woman was behind me," Zoro dodged Sanji's kick as he slammed the shovel against Luffy's head, sending the younger teen face down into the dirt. "And you're the idiot that threw those crates at me! If anything, this whole mess is your fault!"

"I-I'm sorry." Luffy said, but most of it was lost in the mound of dirt. He pushed himself up onto his knees, coughing out the debris.

"Hey, get back to work!" Franky shouted at them. "You better not skim on the replanting!"

There was a collective amount of grudging affirmations. Franky nodded his head once, his arms crossed as he continued to survey their work. Usopp sat on the railing of the upper deck outside of the galley.

"It's nice not having to be in charge of ship repairs." Usopp sighed blissfully. Below him, Robin chuckled from her seat as she turned a page in her book.

"It's good to have the ship so well taken care of." She commented in response.

Usopp nodded in agreement, although, it would have been better if the ship wouldn't have sustained the damage in the first place. However, with those three it was pretty much impossible to avoid any damage to the ship. It was then that the door opened, causing Usopp to look over his shoulder, grinning at the two figures stepping out onto the deck.

"Oh, so you're okay now?"

"Her nose isn't broken," Chopper said when Nami only nodded to Usopp. "but she still needs to rest and get some food in her system."

"_Nami-swan_!"

"Oi!" Franky, Zoro, and Luffy shouted after Sanji as he hopped out of the half-filled hole and positioned himself under the railing, admiration and love shining in his only visible eye as he held out his arms to Nami.

"Is it food you need? I will make you a meal so mouth-watering and full of the rich nutrients that you need in order to give you a one hundred and twenty percent recovery made with all of my love for you!" Sanji paused as a thought occurred to him. "Which reminds me, I better get started."

"Oi!" Luffy and Zoro shouted.

"Ah? You guys did the damage yourselves, so you have to finish it." Sanji took a long drag of his cigarette before heading up the steps. "I already did my part."

"That's not fair!" Luffy whined, leaning on the shovel.

"Then you can go hungry while I help you fill in that hole."

Luffy stared at Sanji, sweat starting to break out on his forehead as he considered his choices, his brows furrowing together in immense concentration before he began shoveling with renewed energy.

"Dinner, Sanji, dinner!"

"Aye, Captain."

"_Oi_!" Zoro snarled.

"Regardless of who caused the most damage, you two are going to finish this!" Franky said sternly.

"Just wait a little longer, Nami-swan!" Sanji cooed to her before disappearing into the galley.

Nami smiled after him, turning to look out at the sea. It was so calm and peaceful, completely different from the visions she had in her nightmare.

"The sun hasn't set yet." Nami observed aloud in mild surprise. "How long was I out?"

"Just a couple of hours, but it'll probably set soon." Usopp answered, following her gaze.

Nami contemplated this for a moment before heading down the steps. "I think I'll go into town."

"What? No!" Chopper stumbled after her, grabbing onto the back of her shirt, effectively halting her on the steps. "You said--"

"It's just for a little while, I'll be back by sunset." Nami reassured the reindeer as she plucked her shirt from his grasp. "A little walk is probably what I need."

"But you can't go alone in your condition!" Chopper argued. "I'm going with you!"

"That's fine." Nami agreed, grinning at his acceptance.

"It would be best to have some company." Robin agreed as she turned a page in her book.

"You can show me around since you've already been out." Nami added as she descended down the ladder. "Anything interesting?"

"Ah, well, um," Chopper watched Nami climb down the rope ladder and waited until her feet had touched solid ground before he clambered over after her, stumbling over his words. "We didn't get to explore the _whole_ city, but I wouldn't mind going to the book shop again!"

It seemed all of Chopper's resistance had melted away as he thought of another run to the town.

"Eh? You guys are going?" Luffy stuck the shovel into the mound of dirt he had created before hoisting himself out of the hole and over Franky, who shouted after him.

"Oi!"

"I want to come!" Luffy was over the side of the ship and at his navigator's side before Chopper had even touched the ground, grinning from ear to ear. She jumped at his sudden appearance, but made no complaints as she shrugged at his request.

"All right."

"Yahoo!" Luffy shouted with a fist in the air before he grabbed Nami's wrist and started at a quick gait. "Let's go, Chopper!"

"Ah, wait for me!" Chopper changed to his walking point form in order to catch up to the couple. Nami was equally displeased by Luffy's speed.

"Hold on, I can't walk like this!" Nami snapped, the sound of their voices fading away in the distance, but not before they heard a resounding thump.

"Oi, Straw-hat!" Franky called after them, even as they disappeared in the distance. "Damn it!"

"Luffy, that bastard." Zoro grounded out through clenched teeth.

"Let them go, it's better to have two of them watch over Nami. Just in case something happens." Usopp said unconcernedly.

"All right, then," Franky looked at Usopp, the sun glaring off his sunglasses. "You can take his place and finish the job."

"Yeah, sure-- _What_?" Usopp shouted in indignation. "_Me_? But I-"

"Don't worry, Usopp-san." Brook said, finishing his latest cup of tea. "I'll play you a song to help the work go by faster!"

"Or you could just help out." Zoro grumbled as he continued to shovel. "Hurry up and get your ass down here, Usopp!"

"What?!" Usopp jumped down, eyes narrowed. "But I wasn't the one who-"

A glare from both Franky and Zoro silenced his complaints at once and soon he was in the hole, shoveling along with Zoro as he inwardly cursed Luffy for leaving him with his burden.

"Any requests?" Brook asked once he had placed his empty cup on the table next to Robin's coffee mug.

"Well," Usopp paused in his shoveling, leaning his chin on the top of the handle, a finger to his long nose in thought. "How about-"

"I think I'll play _Working Dead, _yohoho!" Brook said as he tuned his violin before setting it under his chin and placing the bow upon the strings. "I believe it's a fitting song!"

"_Don't ask if you're not going to listen_!" Usopp yelled angrily. "And don't play such ominous music!"

"Yohoho!"

* * *

"We're here!" Luffy said in excitement, not at all bothered by the large bump on his head.

"We didn't have to run, you idiot." Nami panted, reaching out to give his ear a good twist as she brought him down to her eye level. He yelped as Nami took a deep breath, straightening up as Chopper trotted over to him, his tongue hanging out as he panted. Nami let go of Luffy's ear, looking around at the crowds of people, mildly surprised. "I guess it's all right since we'll have more time to look around."

"Then, don't get mad!" Luffy yelled at her, rubbing at his throbbing ear.

"All right, then," Nami placed a hand on her hip as she surveyed the shops. "Where should we start?"

"Bookstore!" Chopper said excitedly, transforming into his heavy point form to help him blend in as a human and possibly to reach the books on the higher shelves. Why did they have to place all those medical books so high and out of reach?

Even late in the afternoon, Nami was surprised to find the town still full of life. People were chattering and laughter filled the streets. More than once they had to shift and side step around people who were carrying boards, mallets, and other tools. There was the steady pounding of hammers, but Nami was unable to locate the origin of the noise.

The smell of Lilium suddenly assaulted Nami's senses, causing her to close her eyes in order to fight back the wave of nausea that hit her. Perhaps it was bad idea to come here... but as quickly as it had come, the scent was gone. Nami blinked rapidly, wondering if perhaps a gust of wind had diverted the fragrance, but she could not pick up any traces of even the slightest of breezes.

"Nami?" Chopper's voice broke through her thoughts. She quickly shook it off and looked at him with a smile.

"Sounds good." Nami said as she motioned for Chopper to lead the way. She needed to pick up books on the geography of the island and perhaps something else that might give her a clue to the New World and Merman Island, among the many places they would be venturing to in the near future. They had been heading straight for Merman Island once they had left Water 7, but after a couple of weeks of searching to no avail, Nami suggested finding a nearby island. In the Grand Line, such a thing was an incredibly risky thing to chance on, but of the time she had been a Straw-hat pirate, she found how strong their luck could be. That is, considering that it seemed to balance in the extremes in having extremely _bad _ luck and extremely _good_ luck, depending on the situation.

Luckily enough, they managed to happen upon an island when their supplies were low--this island. They had no knowledge of what was on this island, but more often than not, they never did. It took some time to convince Luffy to land. He didn't want to lose the chance to find Merman Island, but Robin reminded them that the situation was similar to when they were trying to find a way to Skypeia. Without any information, they would merely continue to drift at sea. All they had to do was leave before the log set, but because of her nightmares Nami had completely forgotten about finding out how long it would take the log pose to set. Hopefully Robin had already taken the initiative.

"_Eh?_ That's boring!" Luffy pouted, his arms crossing over his chest, obviously against the idea of visiting the bookstore.

"Ah!" Nami gasped out, cupping a hand to her ear as she looked around in earnest. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Luffy and Chopper were immediately on alert, theirs eyes alight with curiosity, both cupping their ears in a mimicry of Nami's movements. A few people cast a few odd looks their way.

"The sound of me not caring." Nami answered flatly once she had dropped the act, grabbing her captain by his wrist and tugged him in the direction of the bookstore. "Lead the way, Chopper."

"R-right." Chopper had the decency to blush at being tricked, but began walking. Nami followed, ignoring Luffy's complaints,

"Will you be quiet?" Nami snapped when Luffy refused to cease his whining. "You already went into town!"

"Yeah, but--"

"Watch it!"

Nami halted just as she had pushed Luffy through the doors, glancing over her shoulder at the ruckus.

Three burly men were sneering down at a little girl. Expecting to reduce the child to a sniveling mass, they were surprised when she stood up from being, only moments before, thrown to the ground. She barely gave them the slightest of glances before she was already walking down the path. Soon she had picked up speed and was sprinting into the crowd, around a corner and disappearing out of sight. The three men looked on, stunned by her sudden disappearance, but soon they scowled and lumbered off in search of a nearby pub. Nami watched them leave before glancing over at the place the little girl had disappeared to.

Nami turned back to the store, startled when she nearly bumped into Luffy and Chopper. Luffy was looking at Nami curiously, but Nami placed a hand on his face and shoved him into the store.

"What are you doing, standing there like that?" Nami scolded.

"But you-" Luffy began, only to have Nami give him another shove.

"Just get in! Look at the comics, or something!" Nami all but shouted. She paused when Chopper continued to stand in the doorway, staring out at the path.

"Chopper?" The reindeer blinked, looking down at her. "Is something wrong?"

"Ah, no." He said quickly, offering her a sheepish smile. "I was just thinking."

Nami made a noise of interest, but then began pushing him inside as well.

"Come on, they're probably going to close soon." She said, making him stumble into one of the aisles. "Just find what you need and let's go. I doubt we can keep Luffy here for more than ten minutes without causing trouble, if that."

"Right." Chopper agreed before wandering off.

Nami turned to search for her own desired materials. She soon found what she needed, totaling three books on the island's geography and possible information that might aide them on their future travels. She decided it was enough and guessed that Robin had probably gotten her own share of information prior. She found Chopper relatively quickly, still searching for his own books and with a quick glance out of the corner of her eyes, slipped the books into his bag without anyone being the wiser. She was about to slip in the last book just when a booming voice sounded throughout the store.

"_Nami!_ _Chopper_!" Nami nearly dropped the book as Chopper spun around, eyes widening as he found her only a few inches away.

"Nami! When did you get here?"

"Well, you know." Nami laughed airily, hiding the book behind her book. She doubted Chopper would take it well if he knew she was using him to shoplift books.

"Ah, found you!" Luffy appeared from the top of the shelf they were standing in front of, making both of them jump. He brandished a book into Chopper's face since he was the closest to him. "Look at this!"

"Hey, you! Get down!" A unseen voice said from the other side. Luffy looked over at the voice calling to him.

"Huh?" Was the last thing he managed to say before books began to slip and soon Luffy disappeared over the shelf with a crash and a yell. Chopper and Nami called out his name before they separated to opposite sides, rushing to the other aisle. Nami let out an exasperated sigh, hand to her forehead as she surveyed the damage. Chopper was pulling Luffy, who was giggling madly, still waving the book in his hand. The shopkeeper wasn't so lucky, his eyes glazed over from the impact of many books to his noggin, but he was still conscious for the most part.

"Sorry, sorry." Luffy said to the shopkeeper before tilting his head back to look at Chopper. "But look at this cool book! It's about monsters and mystery worlds and magic and _pirates_!"

"Really?" Chopper asked, already enamored with the cover's illustration. "It sounds like a good book!"

"I'm so sorry!" Nami apologized quickly as she pulled the dazed shopkeeper from the mess of books. "We'll clean this mess up, are you all right?"

"Y-yeah." He muttered, fixing her with a hard look and then an even colder one when he shifted his gaze towards Luffy and Chopper. "It's fine, but if any of these books are damaged, you'll have to-"

"_No_, no." Nami said firmly, causing the shopkeeper to blink in surprise. She was not about to add to their expenses. "I assure you, these books are still in top quality selling condition. So don't worry about-"

Nami paused long enough to hurl a book directly at Luffy's face, angry at the fact that the two were talking so animatedly while she had to clean up the mess. Chopper was staring down at Luffy in horror as Nami finished her sentence,  
"-a thing. We'll clean this up."

Reluctantly the shopkeeper returned to his post at the cash register, but Nami knew he would be keeping a close eye on them. Gritting her teeth in anger, she looked at the last book she hadn't been able to slip into Chopper's bag and had to keep from biting her tongue to find it was the most expensive of the three. Chopper cowered when Nami turned to look their way just as Luffy pried the book from his face, rubbing his nose.

"Luffy."

"Oww." He blinked, looking up to find Nami towering over him. He blanched as Chopper abandoned his captain, taking refuge behind one of the book shelves.

"You _idiot_!"

* * *

A few minutes later, Nami had calmed down enough to shelve the books with the help of Chopper and Luffy. Luffy had a wad of tissue shoved up both nostrils along with a multitude of bumps on his head. Chopper was still trembling in fear of Nami's anger. Once they had finished, Nami picked up her book and looked at Chopper, causing the reindeer to jump.

"Did you find what you needed?" Nami asked shortly, her anger having yet to ebb away.

"Y-yeah." He answered meekly, visibly relieved when Nami merely nodded.

"All right, let's go-"

"Nami!"

"_What_?" She snarled at her captain, but it had little effect on the jovial young man as he held out the book to her again.

"I want this!" He grinned.

"No." Nami said with little hesitation.

"What? Why?" He pouted, still brandishing the book at her and still looking absurdly ridiculous with the twists of tissue sticking out of his nose.

"Because," Nami ripped the tissue from his nose, causing him to wince, "it's rubbish. Where's the money I gave you anyway?"

"I left it on the ship." He stated matter-of-factly as he rubbed his raw nose. "Come on, Nami."

"No." She said sharply. "I told you, it's a waste of money-"

"No, it's not!"

"_How_ is it not?"

"Because," He fixed her with an oddly serious look. "It looks cool."

"That's not a reason, idiot!" She snapped, slapping the book into his face.

"Come on, Nami." He whined, pushing the book from his face. "Stingy!"

"Yes, I am." Nami agreed as he continued to pout. "Why do you want it so badly? You never like to read."

"You told me to go find something and I did." He frowned, looking down at the book. "And it looks really interesting."

Nami was silent as she contemplated this. It really _was _rare for Luffy to take interest in a book, albeit, it was a comic book, but it was still unusual. She sighed, rubbing her temples before she snatched the book from his hands, staring down at the cover. There on the cover was a man standing in the midst of what appeared to be a heavy storm, long, giant tentacles emerging from the darkness and thrashing around the derisively smirking man. He was dressed in an outfit similar to that of Gold Roger, but instead of red he was dressed in black and there was odd looking object in his hand. The art wasn't amazing, but she could see why it had caught his interest.

Turning over the book, she began to read the synopsis.

_In the depths of the ocean, he waits and he watches every man, woman and child that dares to set sail without resolve. The power that which they seek--_

"Nami!" She scowled, looking up to see him staring at her, looking every bit as the child she knew he showed himself to be.

"All right, but this is a loan." She continued over his joyous shouts, "You'll be paying me back threefold, got it?"

However, she doubted he was listening as he took the book to the shopkeeper, Chopper following after him with his own medical books. Nami sighed, knowing she probably won't be collecting her fee anytime soon and cringed when the shopkeeper rang her up for their purchases.

_Well, at least I got the other two_, she thought in an effort to look on the bright side. Which reminded her that she should check Chopper's bag once they got on the ship.

Their purchases safely bagged away, they left the store, much to the shopkeeper's relief and Nami held a hand over her eyes as she glanced at the sky to estimate the amount of time they had left. It seemed the sun was already starting to sink down in the sky, they would have to return to the ship soon.

Thinking of the ship, Nami turned back to look at the bookstore, barely restraining herself from slapping a hand to a forehead. She had forgotten to ask about the log pose.

"Let's walk a little more." Nami suggested as she headed down the path, keeping eye out for a store or someone out that may be able to provide her an answer before they had to return.

Chopper and Luffy made no complaints as they walked beside her, stopping more than a few times to inspect the window displays as the passed by. The amount of people was dwindling down and the sound of hammering had faded and just when Nami thought it was probably best to turn around, something caught her eye.

The little girl from earlier was standing in front of a bakery, staring at the grand selection with wide eyes. In her hands was a rather extravagant, leather coin purse, decorated with a lanyard containing a bronze skull with what seemed to be imitation rubies in each socket, something Nami doubted really belonged to the girl. Chopper had also stopped, staring at the girl as well while Luffy continued to walk off, oblivious to the fact the they had stopped as he hummed an unfamiliar tune.

"_Ah_!" Chopper turned at Luffy's shout and his eyes sparkled as he followed his captain into the sweets shop only a few stores away. Nami turned, frowning as she started to follow after them but stopped and turned around sharply at the sound of someone being hit.

The girl was now a crumpled mass on the cobble stone path, the coin purse a few feet away. Nami recognized the assailants as the men from earlier.

"You little bitch!" One snarled, kicking the young girl in the stomach, causing her to roll into the bakery's display, nearly cracking the glass. Despite all the commotion they were making, the baker merely turned a blind eye, disappearing into the back as the abuse continued.

"You think you could really steal from us?" The shortest of the three smirked as he grabbed the girl by her hair near her scalp and forced her to look at him. She winced, but made no move to try and escape, only raising a hand to lessen the pain as she held onto the beefy wrist. "Well, I believe it's time to give you a lesson that you'll _never_ forget. Give me your hand!"

For her credit, the little girl didn't cry, but her eyes widened marginally and her lips trembled as her arm was roughly pulled away from her body. Nami looked around to find that the streets had suddenly cleared and found she was the only one witnessing the horrible sight and then Nami picked up the strong fragrance that had her vision spinning. She steadied herself against the wall, a hand to her temples as memories began to surface.

_"Give me your hand!"_ _He demanded, taking hold of her wrist. The steel reflected in her terrified eyes._

_"No!" She struggled, so violently that she was sure she felt something pop and was soon only aware of the blinding pain as she cried out and clutched at her shoulder._

_"Now you'll pay the consequences of your actions, you little thief!_"

Nami quickly shook her head, looking up in time to catch a glint of steel before she saw the three men converge on the small girl. Like a splash of cold water, Nami was up to action with her Perfect Climatact in hand, pulling back to deliver a violent blow to the closest of the three. There was absolute silence as Nami took a breath just as the large man crumpled into a boneless mass. The world spun for a moment, bringing Nami down to one knee as she looked up to survey the damage.

_I still haven't recovered_, Nami thought in dismay, clutching at her weapon to keep her from tumbling over. The strength and speed of her attack was more than her weakened body could handle, but she knew it was too late to stop now. The man holding the girl threw her back to the ground, eyes narrowed as he focused his attention on Nami. The other was already stepping away from his comrade, revealing a row of yellowing teeth as they advanced on her.

"And what do we have here?" Nami winced as one caught her arm, twisting it behind her back, causing her to drop her weapon. "Another bitch come to make trouble? They just keep on coming, don't they?"

"But this one looks like she'll be a lot more fun." The man holding her said with a perverted grin.

"I'll say." The short one with the knife agreed as he moved the knife towards her. "Now, just be a good little girl and we promise it won't hurt--much."

Nami narrowed her eyes, biting her lip as the other man forced her to her feet. She smiled derisively when she felt the tip of the knife at her breast, her eyes shifting behind him.

"Sorry I can't say the same for you." Nami said, earning an amused look from her assailants.

"Oh, you've got some fir-" Was all the man managed to say before a sandaled foot had him eating concrete. His comrade could only stare dumbly when a fist followed and slammed into his face. Nami closed her eyes at the rush of air that came with the attack, stumbling before she fell to her knees as the man was sent flying down the path. Panting, she brought her arm to her chest, massaging it gently as Chopper came to her in his small form, his eyes wide with concern and alarm.

"Nami! Are you-"

"I'm fine." Nami waved him off, although she felt anything but fine as the vertigo continued to assault her. She looked up quickly as she remembered the whole reason she had gotten into this mess. "The girl!"

"Girl? Oh!" Chopper turned quickly, spying the little girl with her back pressed against the bakery's window display.

"You bastard!" Nami blinked, looking around in surprise. To think the guy was still conscious even after taking a hit from Luffy.

The one with the knife was back on his feet, his lips curled in a snarl as spittle and blood ran down his chin, a few of his teeth lying on the stone path.

"I'll kill you!" He shouted as he charged at Luffy, his knife swinging wildly. Luffy merely grinned as he placed a hand on his hat and dodged all of his attacks. Clearly frustrated, still dazed from the earlier hit and blinded by his fury, the man lunged at Luffy only to be met by another kick to his face. He was sent flying a fair distance away, crashing into a distant stand. Luffy's foot snapped back into place. He tilted his head as he turned to Nami.

"Nami! Are you okay?" He asked as he hopped over to her, crouching down to her eye level.

"Yeah, thanks." She smiled at him and he chuckled in response.

"Are you okay?" Nami and Luffy looked over at Chopper as he tried to coax the girl into showing him her injuries. She turned away, however, wrapping her arms around her knees tightly, shaking in the slightest. Chopper looked over at them in dismay, then back at the girl, reaching out to her. "It's okay, I'm a doctor."

Still the girl gave no response, but they could see her knuckles turning white as she dug her fingers into her skin. After a moment Nami closed her eyes to keep the vertigo at bay before she opened them again. It seemed to have worked until she attempted to stand up. She grabbed onto Luffy's shoulder with one hand while the other grabbed her Perfect Climatact.

"Oi!" Luffy hovered over her for a second, but she stepped away, waving him off.

"Nami!" Chopper padded over to her, but stopped as he looked back at the little girl, then back to Nami, clearly torn. She offered him a small smile before glancing over at the girl. She looked down at the pouch she had been holding earlier and picked it up, shaking it for good measure to check the amount. Due to her years of experience she could already estimate the amount and let out a noise of admiration.

"Oh, you're pretty good, aren't you?" Nami said, tossing the bag to her other hand as she stepped in front of the little girl. "Stealing this much without getting caught right away, but a word of advice."

She crouched down to the girl's eye level. "Never parade around with your stolen goods. That's just asking for trouble."

If the girl heard her, she made no visible indication.

"So do you want this back? After all, you worked so hard to steal it." Nami smirked, but inwardly she felt a slight pang of nostalgia and sympathy. The girl was so dirty with her clothes torn and her hair matted together. Even with all the dirt and grime she could see the bruises along her arms and blisters on her feet. Blood seemed to have dried along her shins which is probably why Chopper had been staring at her earlier, he probably caught the scent.

Still, the girl wouldn't answer her. Nami looked up at the sky, seeing shades of orange and red already beginning to paint the sky and let out a sigh. They didn't have all day. She rose back to her feet, slowly, and tossed the coin purse up, snatching it in the air and headed to the sweets shop.

"I'll take that as a 'no.'" Nami said unconcernedly. "I guess we'll just use this to buy some candy. Let's go."

"Ah, Nami! We can't-" Chopper began to argue, appalled by Nami's uncaring attitude, but she turned to Chopper with a look that silenced him at once. Luffy merely folded his arms behind his head, his mouth pressed into a frown and his brows furrowed.

Chopper continued to look back, but Nami nudged him into the shop after Luffy.

"Just wait." Nami said knowingly.

She continued to swing the small pouch around her index finger as Chopper and Luffy drooled and marveled at the different variety of candies. She herself looked at them with mild interest before her eyes landed on the one labeled 'Mikan.' Smiling, she pointed it out to the shopkeeper, ordering about half a pound of the sweet candy. She popped one into her mouth after she had exchanged with the money in the pouch with the shopkeeper, enjoying the citrus-sweet taste of the hard candy that was shaped like mandarin oranges, enjoying the refreshing taste and wondering if by giving Sanji the candy alone, would he be able to replicate it?

"Do you know how long it takes a log pose to set here?" Nami asked, recalling that they had yet to find out. The older woman placed a hand to her cheek in thought.

"Ah, you must be travelers."

"Something like that." Nami glanced over at Luffy from the corner of her eye before shifting them back at the shopkeeper, thankful that she either didn't recognize or know about the bounty on Luffy's (or her own) head.

"About a week." She smiled at Nami. "And you're in luck, we're setting up for a festival in a couple of days."

"Festival?" She asked with a slight tilt of her head.

"Yes, it's--Ah," The woman had glanced outside, her expression becoming troubled. Confused at the sudden change, Nami glanced outside to see what had sidetracked the shopkeeper. It was then that she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

Smiling, Nami turned to see the little girl hovering outside the doorway. Seeing Nami's look, the shopkeeper clucked her tongue in disapproval.

"You best stay away from her. She's really brought nothing but trouble."

"Is that so?" Nami said lightly, becoming less fond of the shopkeeper as she recalled her own past.

"Everywhere she is, trouble turns up." The woman shook her head. "I've never seen her before a month ago, but we've never had so much trouble on the streets until she appeared."

Nami glanced over at the girl just as she gazed up to catch Nami's stare. Nami offered her a warm smile, but the girl only backed away from the door in response, her eyes darting away to the side.

Realizing the girl may run, she hastily thanked the shopkeeper before opening the door, but her smile faded as she took in the pitiable sight. Now that she was no longer hiding her face, she could see how bad off the girl really was. Not only had she bruises on her arms, but a nasty, purple swelling was forming on her left check just below her eye, her lips were chapped and cracked, on the verge of splitting. Her hair dangled about her shoulders, a mess of matted knots.

Quickly, Nami forced on her smile when the girl took a step back, wary of Nami's presence. She placed a hand on her hip and dangled the coin purse in front of her.

"Oh, did you want this back?" Nami crouched down, causing the girl to take another step back. "Sorry, I used some of it, but you can have it back if you want."

Nami held out the bag, but the girl made no move to take it. A few moments passed and the bag seemed to get heavier, so Nami sighed and pulled it back.

"If not money, how about some candy?" Nami offered, shaking the bag at the little girl. It was only for a split second, but her eyes had widened in curiosity, before they darted back to Nami's gaze. A real smile grace Nami's lips at the unguarded action and she shook a few candies out into her hand before holding it out to the girl. Silence reigned for a long moment and Nami considered pulling back her hand, until she heard the distinct rumbling of an empty stomach.

"Don't worry, I don't bite." Nami said jokingly. Hesitantly, the girl stepped forward. First one foot, then the other. As she inched her way towards Nami's outstretched hand, her eyes glanced down and noticed the lack of footwear.

_No wonder she has blisters_, Nami thought just as the girl reached out a hand to take one of the candies.

"Ah," Nami's cry had the girl freezing and she immediately pulled her hand back. Nami silently cursed herself as the girl stepped back, but quickly offered another warm smile. "Sorry, you're hands are dirty."

"Here." Nami said as she took one of the candies and leaned closer, just inches from the girl's chapped lips. "This way you won't have any nasty surprises when you eat it."

Another long moment passed before the girl hesitantly opened her mouth. Encouraged by the action, Nami grinned and popped the candy into her mouth. She watched contentedly as the girl raised a hand to her lips, but then brought it down as she recalled Nami's words, her eyes widening with every second that passed.

"That good, huh?" Nami joked as the girl had closed her eyes to enjoy the treat.

"I want to try, too!" Chopper said, startling both Nami and the little girl.

"Ah, no fair! Me too!" Luffy appeared behind him, both carrying bags of sweets.

"All right, all right." Nami sighed as she straightened up, leaning down to pop one into Chopper's waiting mouth.

"It's good!" Chopper said happily, then turned to the little girl with a smile. "It's good, isn't it?"

Still apparently lost to the sweet candy, the girl only nodded which caused Chopper to grin wider.

Nami smiled down at them, then looked to find Luffy with his mouth opened and waiting expectantly for his own treat. Nami contemplated this for a moment before raising it to his lips only to pop it into her mouth a split second later.

"_Eh_?" Luffy pouted at Nami. "What about me?"

"You've been a real pain today," Nami began, but as she swirled her tongue around the tangy treat, she reconsidered. "But you did save me from those men from earlier. Just _one_."

Nami ignored Luffy as he grinned from ear to ear, picking out the last candy from her hand and moved to place it in his hand. She received a scare, however, when Luffy eagerly leaned towards her hand, wrapping his lips around the candy, as well as her thumb and index finger, his tongue snaking out to catch every bit of the candy's sweetness before he pulled away.

"This is good!" Luffy bubbled, oblivious the look of dumbfounded amazement on Nami's face as she stared at her hand, then at his expression.

"Y-you..." Nami's face flushed.

"Hm? What's wrong, Nami?"

"_You idiot!_" Nami shouted as she sent him face first into the stone path. Chopper and the little girl stared at them with a mixture of amazement and horror.

"Let's go." Nami said shortly, leaving Luffy as she stomped down the path. Knowing better than to agitate Nami in her current state, Chopper followed after her with little complaint. A few moments passed and Chopper paused, turning to see the girl still standing where she was, staring at them blankly. Nami soon halted, turning sharply.

"What are you waiting for?" Chopper looked at her, before glancing back at the girl, then back at her. Nami frowned, then her eyes widened in realization. "Oh, right, what was I thinking?"

The little girl stiffened as Nami walked towards her. After seeing the power Nami was capable of, Chopper could only guess that the girl was wondering if her chances were better with the men from earlier. Nami, however, was unaware of the fear she had instilled as she crouched down next to Luffy, pulling him up by the collar of his vest. Once he was up on his feet, a noticeable trickle of blood could be seen running down his nose, Nami turned to the girl and scooped her up in her arms, surprised at how little she weighed. It was barely audible, but Nami heard her gasp in fear and quickly soothed the girl with a calming voice.

"Don't worry," Nami said quietly as she kept a firm hold on the girl, least she begin to fight her. "You're feet must hurt, right?"

The girl was rigid, but she did not struggle. Frowning, Nami didn't know whether that was a good or bad thing, but turned to Luffy as she held the girl out to him.

"Hold her." Luffy blinked, but complied with her request as she took his bags and handed them to Chopper. Although she didn't trust Luffy to hold their things, let alone a little girl, she knew she couldn't because she had yet to recover from her earlier fainting spell and she was concerned that the scent of blood would be too much for Chopper during the long walk back to the ship. Even for her, she could smell the blood caking the small girl's legs and other possible places that probably couldn't be seen because of the dirt covering her body.

"You better not drop her." Nami said in a low, threatening voice, to which Luffy nodded with a grin as he headed after Chopper. Nami trailed after them, frowning. "Don't jostle her so much!"

* * *

"_What_?" Sanji's voice boomed across the deck. Zoro and Usopp took little notice as they finished replanting the grass on deck. Franky nodded in approval and Brook began his crescendo of his rather lively song, despite the morbid titles he continued to throw out, much to Usopp's dismay. Even despite all the noise Robin managed to enjoy her book as she sipped her coffee.

"You shitheads just let Nami-san walk off in her current state?"

"She went with Chopper and Luffy. What's the big deal?" Usopp mumbled, wiping at his sweaty brow. "And she wanted to go. It's not like they forced her-"

"She's in a delicate state! She can't be walking around with that shitty rubber man! You know the kind of trouble he's capable of."

"You've got a point." Usopp agreed hesitantly. "Well, they said they'll be back at sunset, at least."

"It is sunset, you idiot!" Sanji snapped, gesturing with a cigarette between his fingers at the sun starting to sink down into the sea.

"Get a grip, they said they'll be back soon." Zoro let out a groan as he straightened up, arching his back once he finished replanting the last of the vegetation. "Damn."

"Not soon enough, you shitty grass head. How could you just let them go? Especially with that idiot?"

"Ah? You want to start something, curly brow?" Zoro snarled, his temper rather short from being forced into hours of manual labor. "Throwing a hissy fit just because she's not in sight for a couple of hours. Pathetic."

"You shitty swordsman!" Sanji snarled, flipping over the railing and delivering a forceful kick. Zoro quickly brought out one of his swords to block the attack, but soon anger took over as he found his feet digging into the grass that he had just replanted.

"Bastard!"

"_Oi!_" Franky and Usopp shouted angrily.

"Yohoho, and that's the end!" Brook broke in, unnoticed as he pulled the violin from his shoulder and waved his bow like a baton. "Any other requests?"

"I'll replant your head!" Sanji shouted with another kick aimed at Zoro's head.

"I'd like to see you try, Ero-cook!" Zoro grounded out with one katana now in his mouth and the other two braced against Sanji's foot.

"Stop, stop!" Usopp cried out, hands to his head in distress. "All my hard work!"

"If you're going to fight, do it off the ship!" Franky shouted, but the two pirates merely continued to brace against the other's attack, the soles of their feet digging deeper into the grassy deck with every passing second.

"A ballad it is!" Brook said joyously as he replaced the violin and bow.

"No one suggested that!" Usopp snapped, slapping at the air.

"It looks like they're back." Robin said quietly, chuckling as she shut her book.

"They're back?" Usopp repeated blankly before realization dawned on him. Quickly turning to Zoro and Sanji to preserve as much of his hard work as he could, he shouted to them. "_They're back!_"

"_Ah_?" Sanji and Zoro turned to him at once, eyes narrowed. Usopp turned away, tears running down his face. _Why are you looking at me like that?!_

"Oi, everyone!" A high pitched voice cried out from the side of the ship before Chopper's head popped up over the railing. "We're back!"

"Wait--Luffy!" Nami's distinct voice cried out just as a hand clamped onto the railing a few feet away from Chopper. "Don't--!!"

"_Nami-san_!" Sanji used Zoro as a stepping stone as he pushed his weight down on the crossed swords and bound to the edge of the ship, twirling once as he placed his hands on the railing to glance over the side. "Welcome ba--?!"

Sanji had a moment to watch in horror as a blur of yellow and red came barreling towards him, just before he was knocked to the other side of the ship with a solid hit to his forehead. Usopp and Franky stared in horror as Sanji made a new trench in the grassy deck before they turned on Luffy angrily.

"_Idiot_!"

"Huh?" Luffy blinked, turning to them as he adjusted his hat. "Did I hit something?"

"You jerk, looked at what... you..." Usopp trailed off, his accusatory finger dropping.

"Doctor! Doctor!" Chopper cried out, dropping all of their packages onto the deck as he ran to Sanji, shaking him by the shoulders in his smaller form. "Ah, wait that's me. Sanji!"

"Oi, oi.." Zoro said slowly after sheathing his swords, staring at his captain with a twitching brow. "What the hell is going on?"

"Luffy!" Nami's flushed face appeared over the side of the ship, her lips pressed into a tight line.

Robin placed a hand to her mouth, staring at her captain in surprise. "It seems we have a guest."

Luffy blinked at the others in confusion when he felt something tightening around his neck. He looked down, staring blankly at the girl in his arms as she stared at him with wide eyes, all color drained from her face and her hands clenched tightly into the material of his vest. He blinked, realization dawning on him as he let out a hearty laugh and eased her onto the deck. She immediately released his vest in favor of collapsing onto the deck, staring out ahead as she trembled, slowly taking in her surroundings, her pupils dilating in fear.

"We're back!" Luffy said, grinning from ear to ear just before he was forced into the deck, face first by Nami's fist.

"_You idiot!_"

* * *

**AN**: I liked this chapter a lot better than the previous one, so I hope you did too! :) I was surprised to have so many hits, but so little reviews, but I thought it was just a lot of people clicked on this story and thought to look at it, but read the prologue and thought 'oh, this is crap,' which kind of put me out :( But a lot of people were looking at my profile since I said to watch it for updates on this story, so I guess we'll just see how the turn out is on this chapter to see how motivated I'll be with the next few chapters. _Hint hint_, more reviews = boosted ego = faster chapter delivery? :D That is, only if this chapter wasn't crap-tastic :( and if people actually like reading this story

Who is this little girl? What festival is about to take place ( I bet you forgot about it)? :) Six more days before the log pose sets, will they leave the island in time?


	3. Between a Rock and The Grand Line

**AN**: This sure turned into a monster of a chapter; it probably won't become a habit. I changed a few things on my profile for the story, seems like I actually skipped ahead a little bit since things kind of changed because I added in more than I had originally planned. A lot.

**?!Warnings!?** I'm so sorry, I really should have posted this from moment this story was created, but I kept forgetting! Anyway, I'm sure you realize this story is full of spoilers so if you aren't up to date with the most recent manga chapter of One Piece (or at least after Brook joins) then this story may really ruin things for you. Again, this story will be heading in a **LuNa **( **Luffy **x **Nami**) direction, but romance will be slow going. I'm an avid LuNa fan so I'm pretty steadfast with my stance on that. I'm open to all other pairings though with all the other characters, so those might come up. The rating might go up in the near future. Oh and of course, beware of the bad grammar and spelling mistakes! I beta read myself and I only read it over once after I finish writing, so, sorry about that :x

**Notes**: I probably should have numbered them, but I'm lazy so just keep these in mind. For more info, you might want to try wikipedia :) Or google?

_Oi_- I don't remember if I addressed this, but Oi is way of saying hey or calling someone's attention. It's usually said by guys, but it's used so often that I pretty much treat it as an alternative to 'hey!' Nami doesn't use 'oi,' she uses 'kora' to call their attention, but I probably won't insert that to make things less confusing (because it is confusing enough as it is, isn't it?)

_Tanuki_ - Often translated as Raccoon dog and something Chopper is mistaken for all throughout the series.

_Kitsune_ - Translated as Fox, they're magical, intelligent creatures and can take the form of a human being.

_Lilium_ - I should have explained it last chapter, but Lilium is just another name from Lily, if you haven't already guessed. For this story, however, I'm using Lilium as the actual name for the flower. Why? Because I'm original like that.

_Ji-san_ - A term for a middle aged man, i.e. an old man. Not really the most flattering of names if you're under the age of thirty :x

_Taka--_Is actually half the name of one of Zoro's moves, Takanami. It's the one he uses by just attacking his enemies with the strength of the air he creates with his swords.

_Eternal Pose_ - If you don't know what this is, you really shouldn't be reading this because you're ruining the OP story line for yourself (which is something you should be reading over this any day!), but I'll humor you. It's a log pose that is set on only one island, it never changes. Pretty handy things.

I'm sorry if I missed anything else.

**Reviewer Corner** (Yes, it has a name now): **Silverchild of the winds**, That's good I'm sorry it was so confusing, I think I was focusing so much on trying to keep everyone in character that I lost sight of everything else. I'm really not sure how to remedy the problem, but hopefully this chapter was easier for you to read? And of course enjoyable :D **Insert-witty-name-here**first of all, your name? Absolutely brilliant :D I'm sure people tell you that all the time! Thank you for the ego boost, it really _does_ help! Hopefully you'll continue to give me ego boosts and I'll continue to keep you entertained! **xXBandwagonXx** Really? I think you'll change your opinion in this chapter now that you get a better look into her character. Oh, I forgot, movie 6 did have a Lily for a flower, albeit a strange one. I love the animation for that one :D One of my favorites aside from movie 2, 4, and 7 I can't wait to see 9 and 10! **danny** Thank you :D **Saint Dezzie**, you're too kind, but I realize it's a little bit arrogant of me to ask for reviews--but I really do like to get feedback and if I don't ask I know no one will bother (and even if I do ask, people still won't bother :( I'm glad you're enjoying it **Angel's Hazard**, Of course I mind! You should have reviewed them both! :( Just kidding! I'm happy you review at all, thank you! I glad you're enjoying it! **RyougaZell**, I'm glad you're enjoying it! I actually think Luffy is straight out with his feelings which is what appeals him to so many people. He probably does know more than he lets on and he's definitely not as stupid as people think, otherwise he'd had been dead a long time ago. (Then again, he does have an insanely large amount of good luck...) **layla15**, you're reviews are so cute :) The 'you rock' comment really made my day. Well here's a little bit more on the girl, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well :D **J-to**, I'm so glad you find it interesting. Really, dying to know? Well I hope this chapter satisfies you :)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own One Piece, but I do own all the characters that don't turn up in One Piece :) In particularly, Gomi :)

* * *

**Downfall**

* * *

**Chapter Two**: _**Between A Rock And The Grand Line**_

* * *

After the crew had gotten over the initial surprise of a stranger being brought on to the ship, they quickly returned to their usual routines, consisting of conversation (and arguments), putting away purchases and Luffy being reprimanded for the damage he had caused to the ship once again. Amidst all of this, it seemed the girl had become but a wallflower as she stood on the grassy deck, flexing her toes against the cool vegetation as she stared up the mast of the ship.

Chopper had helped Sanji to the infirmary after handing Nami his bag and their goods and suggested that Nami give the girl a bath.

"I'll treat Sanji first." He said as Sanji let out a low groan, one of his hands brushing against the bruise on his forehead. He wiped the blood trickling out of his nose and onto his lips, glancing at his hand in disgust.

"Are you okay, Sanji-kun?" Nami asked with concern. The cook blinked slowly, looking up at Nami before giving her a grin.

"It's fine, nothing I'm not use to. Thanks, Chopper." Sanji removed his arm from around the reindeer's shoulders, momentarily distracted by the loss of his cigarette. "Shit, he made me drop it."

"Either way, treat the girl first." Sanji said, unconcerned by the blood that spotted the front of his shirt as he padded his pockets for his package of cigarettes, moving down to the back of his trousers before pulling out his prize. He pulled out a stick and placed it between his lips before searching for his matches.

"No, we'll treat you first." Chopper removed the cigarette from his lips, causing the blonde man to blink in surprise, his match still in hand. He watched as Chopper shoved the cigarette into his shirt pocket and pushed him towards the infirmary. "She needs to be cleaned up first. I can't treat her wounds like that, she could get an infection."

At this, Chopper gave Nami a meaningful look. Catching his message quickly, Nami nodded.

"Right."

And so Nami was here with an upturned bucket in her hands. Water splashed over the little girl in all direction, her naked body shivering from the sudden chill that followed the warmth of the bath water. Her hair fell over her eyes like a curtain, her hands clenched tightly against her thighs as her wounds stung, but at least they were clean.

"So," A wash cloth was suddenly covering the little girl's face in a vision of white. "There is a little girl underneath all of that after all."

Nami smiled as she tilted the little girl's head up, her eyes closed tightly as Nami wiped the remains of dirt from her face, pausing at the wince that crossed her face when she brushed against the bruise.

"You've had it pretty rough, haven't you?" Nami pushed the curtain of hair from the pair of brown eyes now looking up at her. Despite the pallor of her skin and the bruises decorating her body in ugly black and blue splotches, her eyes were shining brightly with what she could have guessed was an emotion close to defiance. She smiled, knowing the first chance she got the girl would probably run.

"I've been there."

She continued to stare up at Nami as she continued to wash and clean her cuts, smiling warmly in an attempt to soothe the small girl's frazzled nerves. Nami wondered when she had adopted the role of a guardian, wearing her cut off jeans with the sleeves of her blouse rolled up passed her elbows. She upturned another bucket of water over the soapy mess before placing it down and wiping her sweating brow with the back of her hand.

"All right, how does a nice soak sound? It'll probably be a little longer before Chopper can treat your wounds." Nami said as she took the girl by her wrists and lead her to the large tub. She followed Nami without a word and climbed into the steaming water, wincing at heat, but she made no complaint.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" Nami asked, sitting on the tiny stool with her arm dipping into the water. "You know, you're getting star quality service here. The least you can do is tell me your name."

Rather than gaining a response, the little girl only stared down at her reflection in the water. It's not that she expected words expressing her overjoyed gratitude, but it annoyed Nami to be ignored.

"Well, if you're not going to tell me, I'm just going to have to guess, aren't I?" Nami pursed her lips, placing a finger to her cheek in thought. "What can I call you?"

"... me..."

Nami started, looking over at the girl in a splash of water. It was the barest of whispers, but in the bath house every little sound seem to reverberate off the walls of the enclosed room.

"What?" She leaned closer, coaxing the girl to speak louder. "I couldn't hear you."

"Gomi." She continued to stare down at the water, her expression hidden from view even as she raised her hand up, watching the water slide off her skin. "I'm Gomi."

"Gomi?" Nami repeated, placing her elbow on the edge of the tub, smiling at the slow, but steady progress they were making. "I'm Nami. How old are you?"

Gomi, as she referred herself to, didn't answer right away, but Nami guessed she might have been six, maybe seven.

"I don't know." She answered honestly, raising up her other hand, stretching out her fingers to splay across the surface of the water.

"Are you alone?" Nami asked quietly

Hesitance. "Yes."

"Where are your parents?"

"I don't have any." The periods of silence were becoming shorter.

"No family?"

"No."

"Have you always lived on this island?" Nami asked as she recalled the shopkeeper's words from the candy shop.

"No."

"You're telling me you've been traveling the Grand Line all by yourself?" Nami asked skeptically. Despite the steady progress she was making with the child, the girl seemed to go quiet and Nami knew that this was probably as much information as she was going to get from her.

Before long there was a knock at the door. The young girl stiffened at the sudden noise. Considering the good timing, Nami stood up after giving the girl a reassuring pat to the head before heading to the door. Chopper stood there with a tank top and pair of shorts. He was the only one who had clothes small enough to fit her. It would have been a waste to give her such a thorough cleaning only to place her back into her dirty clothes once more.

"Thanks, Chopper." Nami said as she took the offered articles from him. "How's Sanji?"

"He's making dinner now. He's fine." Chopper peeked around Nami's legs, but she stepped into his line of sight, shaking a finger at him. "The infirmary is ready for her, if you guys are."

"We'll be by in a little bit."

Chopper nodded and walked away, glancing once more over his shoulder before disappearing into the hall. Nami placed the clothes onto a basket on the table in the changing area before grabbing a towel to return to the little girl. Nami fowned her still staring into the bath water. Sighing inwardly, she spread the towel and smiled.

"All right, ready to go?"

* * *

Nami stood in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest as she watched Chopper dab a cotton swab to the various cuts on her the little girl's arms and feet. They weren't very serious, most were small and shallow, but they were numerous and some were infected due to the lack of treatment. By the furrowing of his brow and frown on his face, Nami knew the sight before him was more than a little troubling. To get into such a state at such a young age, what on earth could she have been doing?

When he finished, she was wrapped in fresh bandages, the skin barely visible as he had wrapped them completely due to her blisters and she smelled of salve. Nami smiled as the little girl couldn't help but inspect her bandages, earning a slight reprimand from the small reindeer as he told her that she might loosen them and they would fall off. She quickly dropped her hands to comply with his orders.

"Thank you." She said quietly, earning a grin from both pirates as they turned to each other.

However, when Chopper turned his head, the grin dropped as he fixed the girl with a solemn gaze. She was staring down at her bandaged hands and swinging her feet in the slightest, unaware of Chopper's stare until her gaze darted to his feet instead of her own.

"_Tanuki_."

Chopper's jaw dropped and Nami had to hold back a sigh as she placed a hand to her forehead, knowing what was soon to follow.

"Ta-ta... I'm not a _tanuki_!" Chopper shouted in indignation. Fearing that Chopper's outburst would scare the girl back into her shell, Nami quickly tried to intervene.

"Ah, Chopper, calm down. She didn't know-" Nami began, but she looked at the girl in surprise when she interrupted again.

"Shape shifting _tanuki_." The girl repeated, almost adamant. Chopper felt his jaw drop, but soon regained enough composure to correct her.

"I'm not a _tanuki!_" He frowned. "I'm a reindeer."

"Shape shifting reindeer?" The girl repeated slowly, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"Yes." Chopper sighed.

There was a moment of silence as the girl digested this information. Just when they believed she understood, she opened her mouth and started the process all over again.

"Shape shifting _kitsune_?"

* * *

"Oi, Luffy."

"Na?" Luffy tilted himself at an odd angle to look up at his first mate on the other side of the ship, just outside the galley.

"What's with the girl?" He asked, leaning back against the wall, one hand resting on the hilt of one of his swords.

"I don't know." He replied honestly, turning back to fill in the trench he had indirectly created.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Zoro scowled. "You're the one who brought her on the ship!"

"Yeah, but Nami told me to." Luffy said with a shrug, shoveling dirt rather messily. Franky was towering over him in an instant, delivering a punch to his rubber head.

"You're fixing the damage, idiot, not making it worse!" Franky shouted.

"I _am_ fixing it." Luffy argued, readjusting his straw hat.

"Wait, Nami told you to bring her with you?" Usopp asked from the steps, a finger rubbing his nose in thought. "Why?"

"I don't know." Shrugging unconcernedly he returned to his work. Then he simply added, "Ask Nami."

"I guess that's the only way we can get answers." Usopp mumbled, glancing over at Zoro who just let out an frustrated sigh.

"Robin-chwan!" An unmistakable voice called out from the galley before Sanji appeared, a square bandage over one of his temples. His tone quickly changed as he addressed the others, "And you other idiots. Supper's ready."

Luffy cheered at the promise of food and dropped his shovel, taking a step towards the upper deck until a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Except you!" Sanji's eyes darkened as the others trickled into the galley behind him, a cigarette between his fingers as he addressed the captain of the ship. "Finish your work and I'll _consider_ letting you eat tonight."

"_Eh?!_" Luffy's jaw dropped at the harsh punishment thrust upon him.

"Good idea, cook bro!" Franky agreed as he glanced over at Luffy with a grin. "Make sure to do a super job!"

"Just like he says." Sanji said with an exhalation of smoke to finalize his point. Before Luffy could open his mouth to argue, the door was shut and he was left alone on the deck.

"Stingy!"

* * *

Upon entering the kitchen, the rest of the crew found that Chopper, Nami and the little girl were already at the table. Chopper's tank top was loose on her, but it was better than her earlier rags. The shorts she borrowed still went passed her knees and one of Nami's belts was twisted around her waist twice in an attempt to keep them from falling off her small frame. She looked almost decent if it weren't for the ugly, purple bruise that showed starkly on her face, even from behind her dark brown hair that fell over her eyes.

Everyone quickly found a place to sit in anticipation of a delicious meal. Robin chose a seat across from Nami, followed by Usopp and Franky while Zoro and Brook chose to sit next to Chopper. The little girl sat between Nami and the reindeer, while Sanji returned to the kitchen in order to distribute their meals.

Zoro broke through the silence once Sanji had finished, looking out of the corner of his eyes.

"Who the hell is she?"

For a moment there was no response. Sanji's leg descended down quickly, but Zoro managed to block it with his arm.

"What the hell?" He snarled. "You just want me to kick your ass, don't you, bastard?"

"Watch your mouth around a kid, you shitty swordsman."

"Oi." Usopp piqued in.

Ignoring him, Sanji continued. "You're scaring her, idiot."

"Scaring her? I just asked who the fu-"

Nami stood up, striding quickly until she was behind both men.

"I said _watch your mouth, _you shi-"

"Her name-" Nami interrupted as she grabbed onto their ears and gave a great twist. They cried out in pain, but Nami's voice carried over theirs. "-Is Gomi and you're both scaring her, idiots!"

With that insult, Nami quickly slammed both of them into the hardwood floor.

"What a lovely name for such a lovely little girl!" Brook said jovially as he danced out of his seat and kneeled down next to the girl from the spot Nami had previously occupied. "Shall I play you a song?"

Gomi could only stare at the talking skeleton, her mouth gaping open.

"You're scaring her, too!" Nami shouted, sending a direct kick to the back of Brook's head, just barely missing the girl when made contact with the floor. Gomi trembled visibly as Chopper's jaw dropped.

_No, you're probably the scariest one here_. Usopp, Chopper, and Franky thought together as they stared at the twitching masses of their comrades.

"We saved her in town today." Nami huffed as she reseated herself, the others following suit much less gracefully a few moments later.

"You're so wonderful, Nami-san, saving a little girl from such perils, regardless of the danger you put your own life in." Sanji swooned from his spot next to Franky.

"Idiot." Zoro mumbled as he shoveled food into his mouth.

"What did you say?" Sanji asked sharply, his glare focused on the swordsman sitting across from him.

"Nothing." Came his blasé response.

"Don't lie, you shi-"

"She's a traveler. Like us." Nami spoke loudly, cutting off Sanji's newest insult, then turned to the girl with a smile. "Right?"

"Yes." She said automatically, turning to catch Nami's gaze. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it." Nami said before turning to the others and clapping her hands together. "All right, let's dig in!"

"How was your trip into town?" Robin asked over the noise of clanking silverware as the others shrugged at Nami's indirect command and complied without complaint.

"Pretty uneventful." Nami said as she took a sip from her glass of water. "I found out that the log sets in a week. That means we have to leave in at least five days."

"Yes." Robin agreed, smiling as her gaze shifted to the little girl. "And I believe there will be an event while we're here."

"Event?" Nami echoed, tilting her head in confusion with her fork still sticking out of her mouth.

"What's wrong?" Chopper asked, his question reaching Nami's ears. "Wow! You're really hungry! You ate so quickly!"

"Yes..." Gomi agreed, staring at her plate curiously. Nami glanced down at Gomi's plate, her eyes widening to find it completely cleaned.

"You were." Nami agreed as she swallowed her food. She looked at Gomi and smiled. "Do you want seconds? I can ask Sanji-kun."

Gomi quickly shook her head, her eyes wide at the very suggestion. Nami waved her hand, grinning at the little girl as she reached for another piece with her fork without looking at her plate.

"Don't be shy! I bet you must be really hungry-" Nami paused when her fork only encountered the ceramic plate, causing her to glance over to locate where her portions were. She blanched when she saw that her own plate had only half the amount of food it did a minute ago.

_I only had a bite, how can..._ Then slowly realization dawned on her and she looked around with narrowed eyes.

"Hey, where's Luffy?" Nami asked.

Robin chuckled as Usopp turned to her, his mouth full.

"Luffy? He's outside." Usopp grinned as he reached down to his plate again. "For once I can actually eat-"

Nami arched a brow as Usopp looked down at his own plate in horror to find it empty.

"Oi!" Zoro snarled. "Who took my food?"

"You ate it, idiot." Sanji snapped, reaching to his own plate. "It's not surprising that you wouldn't realize it when you keep shoveling it down like the pig-Ah?"

During all of this, Nami saw a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. A stitch working itself over her right eye, Nami slammed her hands onto the table, pushing herself onto her feet as she made her way to the galley door. Just as she managed to clear herself from the dining table, another flash passed by her swiftly and Nami lunged forward, slamming the door before it could disappear.

"_It hurts!_" An all too familiar voice cried out and a long, pliant limb dropped to the ground resembling a rubber hose with a piece of meat clenched in its hand.

_I should have known_, Nami thought with a hand to her forehead as she threw open the door, stepping back as the arm shot back out of the galley and over the railing of the dimly lit deck. She sighed as she stepped outside, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Ah, Luffy, you jerk!" Usopp was the first out of the dining room after her, his fork still in hand as he waved it angrily. "You stole my food!"

"No..." Luffy denied lamely as he moaned pitifully through a mouthful of food, cradling his arm to his chest. "It hurts!"

"I thought I told you no supper." Sanji grounded out, nearly biting his cigarette in half as he stepped out onto the upper deck.

"But I was hungry." Luffy whined.

Nami shook her head as she let her arms fall to her sides before stepping back inside. She walked back over to the others, Robin's chuckles reaching her ears as she sat down with a huff.

"Really, that guy." Nami turned to girl, eyes narrowing. "And you!"

Gomi turned to look at Nami with wide eyes. She flinched when Nami raised a hand, causing the her to pause in her actions. Her expression softened, but she kept a frown in place as she continued to raise her hand and rapped a knuckle lightly against her forehead, causing the girl to open her eyes.

"You should have told me." Nami frowned at her for a moment longer before smiling. "I don't take too kindly to liars. Remember that."

"Yes." Gomi said slowly, a hand at the place where Nami had tapped her.

"Sanji's cooking is really good." Chopper said, diverting Gomi's attention. He grinned when her eyes found his. "You'll see!"

Gomi said nothing for a moment, looking back at the remains on her plate. Then she turned to Chopper with a small smile. "Yes. It did smell really good."

Nami and Robin exchanged looks, smiling as Chopper's grin widened.

* * *

"Ah, you meant the festival." Nami said, sitting on the steps next to Robin.

"Yes." Robin already had another book in hand, one she had just purchased that day with a steaming mug of coffee, courtesy of Sanji.

Luffy had finally managed to repair the damage he had caused and Sanji had relented to let Luffy have his share of dinner, if only to keep him from whining for the rest of the night. Full and content, they were all strewn about the grassy deck, staring up at the night sky littered with millions of twinkling lights. Brook took it on himself to provide after dinner entertainment, stroking a soothing melody on his violin and soon Franky joined in, making it a duet as he strummed his guitar. Zoro had promptly fallen asleep, his snores pouring from his mouth, but it did little to disrupt the music.

"You know," Usopp began, lying spread eagle near Chopper and Luffy, "I once got a net and caught all the stars above the sky of my hometown."

"_Really_?!" Chopper asked in awe, bolting up to stare at his long nosed companion. "That's amazing!"

"All right! Then let's go and catch one!" Luffy grinned, rocking up onto his heels, one arm around winding up in preparation to grab one of the lights flickering high above them.

"_Ah_." Nami placed her chin on one of her hands, letting out a sigh when her bangs fell over her eyes. "There they go again."

The crew watched in mild amusement as Luffy took on yet another impossible task and waited for what was sure to end in a most comical outcome, but the moment was ruined when a soft voice reached their ears.

"That's impossible."

All eyes turned to the source of the soft spoken voice. Gomi was sitting with her back against the mast, staring at them with her large, dark brown eyes and her knees pulled to her chest.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Luffy asked, breaking the silence that had followed her statement.

"You can't catch stars." She said, but her gaze was focused on Usopp. With his credibility , or there lack of, at stake he quickly stood up, eyes narrowed.

"What are you talking about? Of course you can! I caught over a million of them!" He said, puffing out his chest, then turned to Luffy with a grin. "But she's right. _You_ can't catch stars."

"_Eh_? Why not?"

"You don't have a magic net." Usopp said as if it were common knowledge, shaking a finger at his captain. "And the one I had came from the belly of a sea monster I slayed back home. Along with treasures that were so valuable and dangerous that they would melt your eyes if you ever looked directly at them!"

Once again while Chopper and Luffy were in the midst of praising Usopp for his bravery, Sanji chose to burst their bubble.

"Yeah, yeah." Sanji stepped away from the side of the ship, pulling out a cigarette. "I can't believe you can come up with such bullshit."

"It's not!"

"Yeah it's not!" Chopper and Luffy argued, defending Usopp's lies.

"Ero cook!"

"Pervert!"

"Curly brow!

"What the hell did you bastards say?" Sanji nearly bit off the end of his cigarette.

Gomi watched as a scuffle broke out between the four of them, her eyes widening when the others merely stuck to their own devices rather than take it upon themselves to break up the fight.

Gomi recalled when Nami had pointed out each crew member to her. She tried her best to remember, but with everything that happened and being introduced to a completely new environment, it was difficult for her to keep track. Although they had saved her, clothed her, bandaged her and fed her, it did not mean that she could trust them. It was just common sense for someone like her to be wary of even the kindest of deeds set upon her.

Her eyes continued to shift between each member and the rope ladder at the side of the ship. The grass and bandages would actually make it easier for her to run, but returning to town now would be a foolish idea. There was a good chance she would get caught up in the same situation that these people had saved her from if she were to leave now, but she didn't know if they were going to allow her to stay on their ship. But why else would they have brought her here? No, the real question was why did they save her at all?

Lost in her thoughts, it took her a moment to realize that Chopper was now walking towards her and that the fighting had stopped.

"Do you want to play a game?" Chopper asked, smiling as he held out a hoof to her.

"... Game?" She repeated, uncertain.

"Yeah, it'll be more fun if Gomi plays!" Chopper said excitedly.

"I don't know any games." She told him with a frown, then added sadly, "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry for?" Chopper tilted his head to the side, them smiled, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet. "Don't worry, we'll teach you!"

"I... don't think..." She began hesitantly, trying to pull out of his grasp, shaking her head lightly.

"It'll be fun! Everyone's playing!" Chopper insisted as he pulled her over to Usopp and Luffy.

"All right! First we have to pick the _demon_."

At Usopp's instruction, Chopper turned when he felt Gomi stiffen.

"So we'll draw straws and--_Luffy_." Usopp hit his forehead with the palm of his hand when Luffy had taken nearly all of the straws. "You're only supposed to pick _one_."

"Yeah, but I figure the more the better, right?"

"Give me those!" Usopp snapped, taking all the straws back. "You get the last one, now, here! You go, Chopper!"

"Okay!" Chopper reached over and picked a straw.

Usopp turned to Franky, then Brook who had agreed to participate. Zoro was still taking his after dinner nap, but even if he were awake there was no doubt that he probably wouldn't have refused. Robin and Nami opted to watch and referee the game as it were. Sanji merely told Usopp where he could shove those straws in a creative way of refusing to play.

Gomi picked once Brook had pulled out his straw piece and as luck would have it, she was the one with the shortest straw.

"All right, so Gomi's the _demon_."

"Oh." Gomi stared at her straw piece. "Does this mean I have to run while everyone tries to kill me?"

Everyone couldn't help but stare at the girl in amazement at her strong choice of words.

"_Kill_? No, no. " Usopp shook his head vehemently, frowning.

"But, you kill demons, don't you?"

"No, no." Usopp laughed a little. "_Demon _is just another way of saying you're _it_."

"Oh." Gomi blinked up at Usopp, then back at her straw piece. "Then you're going to capture me?"

"No, actually," Usopp grinned. "You're the one who's going to try and get all of us."

"All right ladies and gentlemen!" Usopp boomed when he turned to the entire crew. "The name of the game is-"

* * *

Nami smiled as she watched the steady progress of Gomi warming up to the rest of the crew. At first she resembled a rabbit ready to bolt at the first sign of movement, but as the night went on and the laughter continued to increase in volume, soon she was running among them, her own laughter mingling with the others.

"Nami-san! Robin-chan!" Sanji cried out from within the galley, twirling out onto the upper deck and down the steps to the two women sitting just outside of the war zone with a plate of snacks and drinks in hand. "Some late night snacks to curb your sweet tooth."

It was inevitable. The game had to stop some time and with the scent of Sanji's cooking drifting into the winds and brought over the deck, the game immediately halted. Sanji sent a kick to the ones that dared to attempt to touch Robin and Nami's share before telling them to head over to the kitchen. In the span of less than twenty seconds, the game was over and Gomi was left to stand alone on the deck, her breaths still coming out in short pants.

Once she had caught her breath, she shivered as the combination of her sweat and the winds chilled her skin, her gaze shifting from the where Nami and the others still remained and then over to the side of the ship. Feeling that this meant that her welcome had been overstayed, Gomi walked over to the three that remained on the deck.

"Nami... san." She belatedly addressed her respectfully, earning the girl's attention. "Are... will you still be here tomorrow?"

"Yeah. We still need some information-" Nami paused, then smiled as a thought occurred to her. "Unless you know, Gomi. Do you know how to get to Merman Island?"

"Merman Island?" She repeated, then shook her head.

"It was worth a shot." Nami sighed, placing a hand under her chin.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly. "I don't know anything."

"Ah, no, it's nothing to apologize for." Nami looked over at Robin and Sanji at the girl's reply, then turned to smile at her.

"Will you be here for a few more days?" Gomi asked.

"Well, we hope to leave before the log sets."

"Five days?" Gomi asked.

"Yeah. See, you know more than you let on." Nami commented, smiling.

Rather than feel praised, Gomi stiffened at the observation and took a step back. She took another and then another before turning around completely and headed towars the side of the ship.

"Where are you going?" Nami called out, baffled at the sudden change in her attitude.

Gomi stopped, clenching her hands at her side to keep her from wrapping her arms around herself.

"I'm going." She made to continue on her way, but paused to look over her shoulder. "Thank you for everything. I can't repay you, I'm sorry."

Nami pushed up from her chair, reaching out to the little girl, but she was already at the side of the ship, pulling herself up and over onto the rope ladder.

"Wait! I said, wait!"

Gomi did not comply with Nami's command and moved purposely down the steps, but a pair of unseen hands seized her at her sides. Caught off guard by the grip, she was easily pulled away from the ladder and before she even had a chance to open her mouth, she was swung through the air and back onto deck and delieverd right to Nami's feet. Dazed at how quickly everything happened, her legs gave out from under her. Nami let out a sigh, turning to Robin briefly.

"Thank you, Robin." The older woman smiled.

"It's nothing."

"All right, you." Nami crouched down, bringing Gomi's gaze back to focus. "Do you think we'd just send you off like that? You're just a kid."

Gomi could only stare at Nami with wide eyes.

"Damn straight." Gomi started when she looked over to find the blonde man pulling the rope ladder over the side of the ship, dropping it onto the deck. "I wouldn't be able to call myself a man if I let such a young lady wonder around in the dark all by herself."

"You're... holding me prisoner?" Gomi asked slowly, her brows furrowed, startling all three of them. "But I have nothing."

"No, no." Nami said quickly, starting to become a little irritated as she grabbed the girl's uninjured cheek and pinching it. Gomi winced, but made no move to stop her. "Why are you trying to make us look like the bad guys? Didn't we save you?"

"Yes and I'm grateful." Gomi managed to mumble passed her lips now stretched taunt across her face. "And I doubt I can ever repay you."

"That's right. You said you had no place to go." Nami recalled, then let go of Gomi's cheek. The young girl reached up to touch the area gingerly and Nami frowned. "You sure don't talk like a little girl."

"I'm sorry."

"It's nothing to apologize for." Nami sighed, rocking back on her heels and pushing herself up to her feet. "Look, if you want to leave, you can in the morning. Just stay the night, it's not like you have anything to lose, right? I'll even give you back the money you, ah, acquired earlier."

"But, if you want to stick around for a little longer than that, we won't kick you to the curb." Then Nami turned to the upper deck, smiling. "Right, Captain?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

Gomi started, looking up sharply to find that the rest of the crew had reappeared on the upper deck, watching the exchange. She didn't know how long they had been watching, but she could of guessed they had seen enough.

"Captain?" Gomi repeated, staring at the man with a straw hat on his head.

"Yes. The Straw Hat pirates." Robin confirmed, smiling.

A particularly strong gust of wind blew across the deck at the moment, their Jolly Roger flapping rapidly above them, drawing their attention. Gomi stared up at the flag, their mark reflected in her dark eyes.

"Straw Hat pirates." Gomi repeated slowly, her eyes lowering back to the crew before her.

"Does that scare you?" Nami asked with a devious smile. "Knowing that we're pirates?"

"Pirates or not, you've done more for me than anyone I've met on this island." Gomi said as she slowly stood up. "You don't bite the hand that feeds you."

"You really don't act like a kid." Nami sighed, losing her playfulness, but she held out her hand to Gomi with a smile.

"I doubt she would have survived this long on her own if she had." Robin commented from over her mug.

"You're so blunt, Robin." Nami mumbled as the others once again stepped onto the grassy deck. Sanji appeared with another seat, placing it near the table and took Gomi's hand from Nami's as he helped the little girl into the seat. Clearly unused to the treatment, Gomi stiffened once Sanji had removed his hand from hers, her feet dangling a good foot from the ground, and pushed her chair so it was closer to the table.

"It's not as hot as before, but I'm sure you'll still enjoy it, little lady." Sanji said gently, removing the last cup that had been on the tray and holding it out to Gomi. "I'm not sure what you would like, but I think that this might meet to your tastes."

"It's hot chocolate." Nami winked.

"Hot chocolate?" Gomi repeated, staring at the cup for a moment before she took it from Sanji's hands.

"Have you never tasted hot chocolate before?" Robin asked.

"No." Gomi answered, staring at the dark, murky liquid. The others stared at the girl in amazement then exchanged looks with one another.

"Then, you're in for a treat." Sanji said, smiling at her kindly around his cigarette.

Gomi continued to stare at the contents of her cup, before looking up, startled to find their gazes fixed upon her. Knowing that they were waiting for her to drink, she couldn't help but wonder if they had slipped something more within the dark liquid. Although, she knew that it was unlikely because she really had nothing of worth, as far as they knew.

Bracing herself, Gomi lifted the cup to her lips and took a tiny sip. Her eyes widened, her tongue darting out to catch even the tiniest bit left on her lips. Soon the contents of her cup were gone and Sanji was grinning.

"That good?"

"Yes." Gomi said with an enthusiastic bob of her head before she realized what she was doing, she turned to look at Sanji and gave him a real smile. "Thank you, Ji-san."

Absolute silence reigned and Sanji blanched, the cigarette dropping from his limp lips.

"Ji... san?"

Nami quickly covered her mouth as giggles threatened to spill out. Robin turned away, chuckles already bubbling passed her lips. Gomi looked between the two women and the petrified blonde man with increasing confusion.

"I'm sorry." Gomi said automatically, staring at them, then at Sanji, starting to become frantic. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry-"

"N-no, it's fine." Sanji managed to stutter, straightening up as he shifted a glance out of the corner of his eye, shakily reaching for his pack of cigarettes. It was likely the pack would not last him for the rest of the night. "I just didn't realize I looked that old."

"I don't understand." Gomi frowned at Sanji's words. "Ji-san is not your name?"

"No, you've got it a little backwards." Nami was finally able to squash her laughter, but she could not wipe the grin from her face. "It's _Sanji_. San-ji."

Gomi's eyes widened and quickly looked back at him, her hands slapping over her mouth as if the action would take back her words. "I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"Don't worry." Sanji repeated, smiling a little. The damage was still reversible, he thought, since the others were still preoccupied and the only ones to hear were Robin and Nami-

"I think I like this kid."

_Shit_... Sanji bit right through the end of his cigarette, wasting another of his precious sticks. He spat out the end to join the larger half at his feet and slowly looked up to the upper deck. As he feared, Zoro, the one member of the crew that he _never_ wanted to hear of this, was staring down at him, leaning leisurely against the railing with a wicked grin on his face.

_Of all the times to be _awake_, shit, shit shit... !_

"Hold on-" Sanji began to step towards the swordsman, but it was too late.

"_Oi_!" Zoro called out, his voice booming across the deck and catching the attention of the rest of the crew. It was rare for Zoro to call attention upon himself so soon all eyes were on him. "Did you guys hear the cook's new nickname?"

"If you say one more word, so help me-" Sanji snarled, already stepping back and heading to the closest stairwell.

"You'll do what, _Ji-san_?" Zoro sneered.

"Ji-san?" Luffy repeated before bursting out into laughter. "Oi, oi, Sanji's an old man!"

"Ji-san! That's a good one!" Usopp managed to say through his own laughter. Soon the whole ship was in uproar except for Sanji, who burned right down to the roots of his hair, and Gomi.

It didn't take Sanji long for him to get over his embarrassment and soon all the men of the crew were subject to his fury. Gomi watched in horror and looked to the only two members not involved in the all out battle, guilt plainly reflected in her dark eyes. Robin only chuckled, giving the girl a reassuring pat on the head while Nami stood up, thinking that this had gone long enough.

"_Knock it off_!" Nami shouted, bringing down the crew in less than ten seconds. They were all soon lined up with multiple bruises and bumps, bowing their heads to Nami and apologizing as one, except for Zoro.

"You've already caused enough damage to the ship for one day, don't you think we get enough of that when we're escaping the marines or anything else that _this_ idiot gets us into?" Nami grabbed Luffy by his vest to emphasize her point. "If you guys cause anymore trouble I'll send you to the bottom of the ocean, _understood_?"

"_Yes ma'am_." Came the unanimous reply.

"Good." Nami released her grip on Luffy's vest, dropping him at her feet before she dusted off her hands and walked away.

"Are you sure that he is the captain?" Gomi dared to whisper to Robin after witnessing the scene.

"Perhaps she is the shadow captain." Robin smiled.

Gomi could only stare at the woman, sitting back in her seat.

"Shadow captain?"

* * *

Gomi awoke to the sounds coming through the crack to the door of the infirmary. She blinked rapidly in the darkness, rubbing at her eyes, but quickly regretted the action as she managed to get salve into one of her eyes. They soon began to tear and her arms began to flail out in attempt to grab something to ease the pain. Instead, her hand caught on the edge of a metal tray and something sharp embedded itself into her hand. Gasping at the sudden, blinding pain, she struggled to pull out whatever it was that managed to pierce her skin, becoming entangled in the sheets. It wasn't long before Gomi lost purchase on the cot and crashed to the floor with a cry, her eye still burning.

"What, what?" A voice called out from the darkness and light quickly invaded her uninjured eye. With another cry, she began to thrash about.

"Oi, _oi_! Calm down!" Gomi felt hands on her arms and her struggling increased, her breaths coming out in short pants, but the grip tightened almost painfully so that her movements stilled and she could see a shadow through her eyelids. "Don't you remember me?"

Slowly recognition came to her and her uninjured eye fluttered open. She quickly closed it again, tears leaking out, but she continued to blink them away, forcing herself to focus on the figure before her.

"Ji-san--Ah, Sanji-san." Gomi corrected herself when she saw a blur of yellow and the scent of tobacco drifted to her nose, confirming her guess.

"You're bleeding? _Sh--_Ah." He quickly corrected himself as he helped the young girl onto her feet. "What happened?"

"I, I got some medicine in my eye and it started to sting, but it was dark and I hit something..." Gomi stood up, her eyes finally adjusting to the lighting.

"Are you okay?" Sanji asked as he pushed back her bangs, recoiling slightly when he saw her eye. "Ah, it's all red. Let's go wash it out and then re-bandage your hand."

"O-okay." Gomi agreed as Sanji helped her to avoid the rest of the medical instruments and out of the infirmary.

Last night, after some discussion, they had decided to let Gomi sleep on the cot in the infirmary because Nami doubted she would be comfortable sleeping in the women's quarters and sleeping in the men quarters was out of the question. No little girl should be subject to that. Chopper agreed and added that it was probably the best place for her in her current condition.

"It's still dark." Gomi commented when they entered the galley, lit only by the artificial light Franky had installed. She was staring out at the porthole in the door as Sanji led her over to the sink, turning on the water and grabbing a clean dish rag. As she entered the kitchen area, she noticed that several pots and pans were out and ingredients were strewn about. She also noticed that some vegetables were only halfway cut and knew that he had come running when she had screamed.

"Did I wake you?" Sanji asked when he helped Gomi onto a stool, pulling her hair from her face so that she could rinse her eye.

"It's okay." Gomi said, pulling back, making Sanji wonder if she was referring to his question or her eye. Rather than dwell on it, he handed her the dish rag. Gomi quickly cleared off the water before he led her back to the infirmary. "You don't have to, I can do it myself so you can go back-"

"Do you know where the bandages are? Or the antiseptic?" Sanji asked, arching his only visible eyebrow.

"No, but I can find it-"

"Or I can do it and that way we both save some time." Sanji suggested. Before she could argue, she found herself placed on the cot again and she knew that he wold leave no room for argument. She watched as he haphazardly tossed the fallen instruments onto the tray before putting it on the side and pulling out the gauze and a bottle of antiseptic. He turned to her and began unwrapping her bloodied bandages, glancing at her other arm briefly. "We may as well do all of them."

"No, no." Gomi shook her head vehemently. "I don't want to waste your supplies-"

"It's not a problem. We go through these like water." Sanji said, then paused. "In fact, we go through everything pretty quickly."

"Isn't that more of a reason for you not to use it?" Gomi frowned.

"Don't worry about it." Sanji assured her, applying the antibacterial medicine onto her wound. She winced and he quickly apologized. "Sorry, it looks pretty deep. You can have Chopper look at it later. Anyway, I don't think it's being wasted on you. I think it's being put to much better use on a little lady like yourself rather than any of the idiots on this ship."

"Do you get injured often?" Gomi asked as she watched Sanji redo her bandages.

"Yeah." He laughed, missing her eyes widening at his carefree answer. "We do get into trouble now and again. The bandages on your legs still look all right. I'll just leave that to Chopper for later."

"Thank you." Gomi said, flexing her other hand, that didn't have the fresh injury, to test her mobility.

"No problem. You can go back to sleep, it's still before sunrise." Sanji said as he put the materials back. "I'll call you when breakfast is ready."

"I'm okay." Gomi said, slowly easing herself onto the floor. "I can help."

"Oh, no." Sanji said firmly as he stepped out of the infirmary, Gomi trailing behind him. "I can't have a little lady helping me, especially in such a delicate state. Just sit back and wait and I'll fix you the most delicious breakfast you've ever tasted."

"I feel bad." Gomi said when he seated her at the dining table and watched Sanji make his way back to his cutting board. "You have to cook for ten people, including me. Isn't that hard all by yourself?"

"It's nothing for a chef. Whether it's one person or a hundred, it doesn't matter. It's our duty to feed the hungry with the best quality food that we can give." Sanji said as he resumed his cutting and then tossed over his shoulder without pausing in his work, "Is there anything you want to eat?"

"M-me?" Gomi squeaked.

"Yeah, anything you want." Sanji paused at her tone, glancing over to give her a reassuring smile. "I wouldn't be able to live up to my name if I couldn't make anything you requested."

"Anything..." She repeated slowly, staring at him in amazement before her gaze shifted to the table. Sanji waited a few moments, but Gomi seemed lost in thought, as if a heavy decision had been placed on her that decided the fate of the world, rather than being asked what she felt like eating at the moment. "Anything..."

Suddenly, the door opened to the galley.

"Good morning." Robin greeted with a smile as she made her way to the coffee pot that had been placed at the end of the counter in the kitchen area.

"Good morning, Robin-chwan!" Sanji said, his entire demeanor changing as he sidled up next to her. "It's a blessing in itself to be greeted by your beauty so early in the morning! What shall I create to satisfy your taste buds?"

"Anything is fine." Robin smiled, turning her gaze on the young girl who quickly shifted hers away.

"Of course!" Sanji cooed before returning to his station. Robin smiled after him before making her way to the dining table, her coffee in hand as she sat across the table from the small girl.

"Good morning." She repeated, then added, "You're up early."

"Good morning." Gomi greeted back quietly, her hands twisting in her lap.

"Ah, I think I woke her up and she had a little accident, but she seems to be okay, right? Little lady?" Sanji asked her, seeming to have adopted a new nickname for Gomi. Gomi could only nod, suddenly shy in Robin's presence.

"Is that so?" Robin smiled.

"So, did you decide what you wanted to eat?" Sanji asked again, already working on the various kinds of meat Luffy would surely demand. "Remember, anything you want."

Gomi became pensive once more, staring intently at the table as she seemed to have an internal battle with herself. Robin held back a chuckle at the sight, opting to drink her coffee to help supress her laughter.

"Blueberry pancakes." Gomi said so quietly, Sanji didn't hear her.

"What was that?" Sanji asked over the sizzling of bacon and sausage.

"It seems she's craving blueberry pancakes." Robin helped, smiling as the girl seemed to stiffen.

"Blueberry pancakes?" Sanji frowned, looking over at the pantry. "Shah. I don't think we have any right now..."

"I-it's okay! I'm fine with anything! I'm sorry, it was really rude of me-" Gomi began in a rush, but Sanji cut her off.

"Don't worry about it. I told you anything and I meant _anything_. You'll just have to forgive me and take a rain check for today." Sanji said as broke six eggs at once and dropped their contents onto a giant frying pan. "I'll make you the most delicious blueberry pancakes you've ever tasted tomorrow, how's that?"

"No, no, please don't trouble yourself!" Sanji's words suddenly sunk in and Gomi stopped. "Tomorrow?"

"That's right." Sanji grinned. "Guess that means you'll be staying another night."

"Sanji! Breakfast!" An unmistakable voice cried out, clearly heard even through the closed door. Sanji didn't even bat an eye when the door burst open, dropping a pan and spinning around to kick it at the intruder.

Luffy took the hit in full force and hurtled out of sight, the door still swinging open to let in the rays of the slowly rising sun. Robin continued to drink her coffee, unperturbed as Gomi stared at the door, coloring draining from her face.

Still working on the eggs in the pain, Sanji stepped out onto the upper deck momentarily, irritation creeping into his gaze.

"I'll call you when it's ready, you shitty captain!" He emphasized his point by slamming the door before returning to his work station.

"Was that the captain?" Gomi asked timidly.

"It was." Robin smiled.

"Are you sure he is the captain?" She asked again, staring at her with a hint of doubt creeping into her eyes.

"Does it have to be so noisy this early in the morning?"

All heads turned to see Nami entering the room in middle of stretching, her arms high above her head.

"Good morning." Robin said, smiling.

"Good morning, Nami-swan!" Sanji gushed. "Breakfast will be ready soon so please just wait a little longer!"

"Thanks, Sanji-kun. Morning everyone." Nami said, stifling a yawn before seating herself next to Gomi. She turned the girl, smiling. "How'd you sleep?"

"G-good." She said hesitantly.

"That's good."

"N- Nami-san?"

"What is it?" Nami asked, arching an eyebrow to see the girl was visibly shaking, her hands clenching in her lap.

"Last night, you... I had... there was... a... a pouch and..."

"The one with the money that you stole?" Nami finished for her when the young girl continued to stumble over her words. She flinched, but slowly nodded.

"Going to make your getaway already?" Nami grinned, a hand to her cheek as she rested her elbow on the table. "But I get fifty percent since I _did_ save you."

_I thought the captain did_, Gomi thought to herself, but wisely chose to keep her mouth shut.

"Okay." Gomi said, surprising Nami, but then the young girl's eyes widened. "You mean, you really are going to give some back to me?"

"Sure." Nami smiled. "But, you know what? You can have it all back. I already took my share when I bought that candy."

"R-really?" Gomi asked. "Even your captain? That candy was enough to pay you back for saving me?"

"Ah, yeah..." Nami suddenly blushed as she recalled the memory. Robin glanced over at the young woman in amusement and made a mental note to ask the little girl for some details.

"Then, for the food and bandages?" Gomi pulled her hands out of her lap, staring at her injuries.

"Don't worry about it." Nami waved off, smiling a little. "I know what you're going through, in fact, everyone on this crew can understand what you're going through."

"What I'm going through?" Gomi repeated, hands dropping back into her lap. She looked over at Robin, who offered her a warm smile and then to Sanji. He still had his back turned to her, but for a brief moment, she saw a grin on his face. She quickly shook her head when she turned to Nami. "No, I can't. I can't just-"

"You can and you will." Nami said firmly, jabbing her index finger at Gomi's forehead and continued to poke her as she emphasized her point, making the little girl yelp in surprise. "And if I hear _one more word_ about this, I'll hit you, understand?"

Gomi nodded when Nami finally ceased her actions, covering the spot with both her hands in case the young woman chose to resume her abuse.

"Good." Nami said smugly before turning to the older woman. "We should make another run into town and gather as much information as possible. I skimmed through the books I got, but it didn't really say much. Did you have any luck?"

"Nothing that would be of any help, I'm afraid." Robin said apologetically. "The only information I've received concerns the festival that's supposed to take place."

"That festival again." Nami thought aloud, frowning. "What sort of festival is it?"

"I believe it has the theme of the flower, Lilium."

"Lilium, huh?" Nami's brows furrowed together. "You know, ever since we arrived I feel like there's something... strange about this island."

"I think so, too." Robin agreed, but before she could say anymore, Sanji appeared with three plates in hand.

"I hope you forgive my interruption, ladies." Sanji said as he laid out their breakfast.

"This looks really good, Sanji-kun." Nami praised him as she cut into the strawberry and waffle topped with whipped cream, popping it into her mouth and moaned. "Very good."

"I'm so glad you think so, Nami-san!" He gave himself a moment to bask in her praise before heading back to the kitchen to place the rest of the food on the table.

"You better hurry before Luffy gets here." Nami told Gomi as she cut off another piece, brandishing it at the little girl, syrup hitting her on the cheek. "Ah, sorry, but you saw what he did when he wasn't even _in_ the room. Think of the damage he'll cause when he _is_ in here."

Gomi's eyes widened and she quickly nodded, turning to her plate. Nami licked her thumb before putting the piece into her mouth, the fork still hanging out when she rubbed her thumb over the syrup that had found it's way onto Gomi's cheek. Robin watched the exchanged, amusement clear in her gaze, but she said nothing as she ate her own breakfast.

"_Oi, food's on_!" Sanji called out unceremoniously at the door before turning back and seating himself next to Robin. It took less than a minute for the rest of the crew to file in, digging into their meal with much gusto. Gomi tried her best to finish off her food quickly, but upon her first bite, she could not help but stop and enjoy it as her taste buds sang.

"Robin and I are going to run into town again to gather information." Nami said over the clamor. "If you want to get to Merman Island, we're going to have get information and we need to do it fast."

"Ah! I can go into town, today!" Brook announced suddenly.

"Did any of you get a disguise for him?" Nami asked with growing ire at being ignored. Didn't they want to get to get to Merman Island?

"_Ah_." A collective amount of responses had them stopping, sweat breaking out on their brows. Clearly, they had forgotten.

"Whatever, we can just give him a cloak and say he has a mask on." Nami mumbled, a hand to her forehead. "Really..."

"Thank you, Nami-chan!" Brook said, his ever present grin in place. "I do wonder if the cloak you'll be lending me will be long enough to cover all my bones and if they will match the color of the panties you're wearing-"

"_That has nothing to do with it_!" Nami snarled, throwing a fork at him. Brook quickly dodged, but Usopp, who had been sitting next to him, gave a very unmanly shriek as the fork caught on his bandana and barely missed being imbedded into his skull.

"Usopp!" Chopper cried in horror as his friend fell to the table, foam bubbling out of his mouth and the whites of his eyes visible.

* * *

"Are you sure?" Nami asked.

"Yeah, I wanted to work on something since we're having some down time." Usopp said, rubbing his nose with a sniff.

"Having this down time will give me a chance to inspect _Sunny_." Franky agreed with a nod as he posed. "I'll have her back to her super self in no time!"

"Fine, fine." Nami nodded before turning to Zoro. "And you?"

The sounds of his snores were her only answer. Nami raised a fist, approaching him angrily, but both Franky and Usopp seized her arms, pulling her back.

They had managed to calm Nami and urged her down the ladder, but there was still a problem when she watched Gomi climb down. The girl still lacked footwear.

"Wait, Gomi." Gomi stopped a few feet from the ground and looked at Nami from over her shoulder. "Someone's going to have to carry you."

"What? Why?" Gomi nearly lost her grip on the ladder, causing a few of them to to step towards her, but she managed to hook her arm around one of the footholds, eyes wide. "But I can walk."

"And ruin your new bandages? I'm sure it's still painful, too." Nami turned to the eligible pack mules, hands on her hips. "All right, who's going to carry her?"

"I can do it!" Luffy grinned and hopped over to the little girl. "I did it yesterday."

Gomi visibly paled as she recalled yesterday's events, but she seemed too frightened to refuse as Luffy turned around and offered her his back. Seeing the reaction out of the corner of her eyes, Nami clucked her tongue just as Gomi slowly wrapped her trembling arms around his neck.

"I don't know about that. Chopper." Nami suddenly pointed to the reindeer. "What about you?"

"Me? I don't mind-"

"I can walk, really." Gomi protested, still pale. "I promise not to ruin the bandages-"

"It's fine, it's fine!" Luffy grinned as he wrapped his arms around her legs and shifted her into a more comfortable position. Then, without warning, he started to jog off. "Let's go! To Merman Island!"

"Hey--oh forget it." Nami looked to the others. "Someone go with them, please."

"I'll go!" Chopper said, shifting to his walking point and galloped after them.

"I will go with them." Brook said, looking absurd with the cloak over his afro and top hat.

"You could of at least taken off your hat." Nami said, starting to feel tired although their search still had yet to begin. "All right, we'll meet back at the ship before sunset."

"Of course, Nami-chan!" Brook said with a slight bow before heading off to catch up with his companions.

"Don't forget you're getting information!" Nami shouted after them, but whether they had heard her or not was unclear as they disappeared out of sight. "I think we're on our own."

"That goes without saying." Sanji agreed, tapping a cigarette out of his pack. "Well, we're burning daylight. Let's get started."

* * *

"Captain-san!" Gomi whimpered as she clung to Luffy's neck, threatening to choke him as he continued to jog. "P-please stop running!"

"Na?" Luffy stopped abruptly, causing her forehead to collide with the back of his. He blinked when he felt her arms loosen and turned his head to look at her. "Did you say some--_Oi_!"

Luffy stumbled, shifting so that Gomi was no longer in danger of falling off, her arms now hanging over his shoulders limply.

"Did you fall asleep?" Luffy frowned. Gomi could not bring herself to respond, still dazed by the hit.

"Luffy!" Chopper was now in his heavy point form with Brook trailing after him.

"Oh, Chopper! Brook!" Luffy grinned. "Did you find anything about Merman Island?"

"Wha-No! How could we? We're too busy chasing after you!" Chopper scolded him.

"Oh, is that so?" Luffy blinked at them, tilting his head in confusion. "Why?"

"Nami-chan asked us to keep you company." Brook sugar coated the answer, twirling his concealed sword with a laugh. "But now that we're all together, we can search for information!"

"C-can I get off?" Gomi asked, still unable to focus from the hit. Chopper spotted the bump forming on her forehead and gaped at it in horror.

"What happened?!"

"The captain... stopped." Gomi said, still dazed.

"Luffy!" Chopper frowned at his captain. "You need to be careful!"

"I was."

"No you weren't!"

"I was, too!"

"Then why does she have a bump on her head?"

"She has a bump on her head?" Luffy turned to look at Gomi. "Oh, she does. What happened?"

"Can you put me down?" Gomi asked again, the pain slowly beginning to recede.

"We can't do that." Chopper frowned. "Your bandages-"

"That shop sells shoes." Gomi pointed in a vague direction. Chopper looked at her skeptically.

"Which one?" Chopper asked.

"Th... that one." Gomi said nervously when Chopper continued to stare at her unblinkingly.

"Let's go!" Luffy said as he marched in the direction that Gomi was pointing to. Gomi fumbled to find purchase on her mode of transportation, hands catching on to the material of his vest.

"Ah, I can go myself." Gomi said quickly, offering a hesitant smile. "You need to find information, don't you?"

"We can ask the people at the shoe store!" Luffy said cheerfully.

"I guess..." Gomi trailed off, but perked up a little. "Then you'll let me walk?"

* * *

"Merman Island?" The bartender repeated, frowning. "There's such a place?"

_This isn't going to be a repeat of Skypeia, is it?_ Nami thought in dismay, glad she had a drink in hand.

"You've never heard of it before?" Robin asked in surprise.

"Can't say I have, but you see, we don't get much news 'round here." The bartender said honestly as he cleaned a glass mug and then putting it aside. Sanji looked at it with poorly concealed disgust when he could still see the water stains and solid masses still stuck to it's rim. "Don't get very many visitors, either."

"Is that so?" Robin said as she glanced at around the bar out of the corner of her eye. It was nearly empty, but considering that it was a little after noon it might not have been so strange.

"Yeah, but you've come at a pretty good time." The bartender said, throwing the dish rag onto the counter. "Festival's coming up in a couple of days, rare treat for all of you, I'd say."

"The Lilium festival?" Robin provided.

"Yeah," The man looked at her in surprise. "You know about it?"

"We've heard something." Nami said, rather uninterested.

"If you're staying for the next couple of days, you'll be in for a real treat." He said, smiling. "You should stay, you know. Doubt you'd find a celebration like this anywhere else."

"That's all good and fine," Nami commented with a sugary smile, her bottle now empty, "but back to the subject of the island."

"I told you--ah, but I suspect your best bet would get an eternal pose to a nearby island and find some information there--if it exists." The man snorted.

Sanji had to hold Nami back, using both his arms as she attempted to swing down the bottle and smash it open to use as a makeshift weapon. Robin merely smiled and thanked the man for his help. He grunted, watching them out of the corner of his eyes as they left his bar.

"That guy was no help at all!" Nami said angrily, not at all bothering to lower her voice. "_If it exist_--of course it exists! Kokoro-san is living proof--Sanji-kun."

"Yes, Nami-san?" Sanji asked, seeing the young woman narrow her gaze at him.

"What the hell are you doing?" Her tone deathly quiet.

"Why, I'm making sure you don't hurt yourself in your fit of anger, my wonderful Na-" Sanji was unable to complete his sentence as he found himself crushed down into the stone path.

"It seems that Merman Island is as difficult to reach as Skypeia. Considering the location, it isn't surprising that their existence isn't common knowledge." Robin reasoned. "This island does seem somewhat isolated."

"This close to the _New World_?" Nami asked incredulously. "They can't be _that _ignorant."

"But it is strange." Robin said as they continued to walk the streets in search of another potential source of information.

"You can say that again." Nami snorted.

"No, not that." Robin corrected to her as she motioned to the people. "Don't you find it strange that not even a single person has recognized us?"

They passed by many people, most of which were carrying materials and flowers. When they had first entered the town, Nami had been amazed by the amount of people milling about and was somewhat reluctant to enter when she saw the all too familiar flower and recognized the scent. However, as she trailed after Robin and Sanji, she found that it was almost bearable.

"What do you mean?" Nami looked at the other woman in confusion. "Why should they recognize us?"

"Our wanted posters." She said quietly, realization dawning in Nami's eyes.

"That' right!" Nami said as she slapped a fist into her open palm. "Well, you said this island seems isolated. Maybe they don't get news very quickly?"

"That could be it." Robin agreed hesitantly.

"Should we take up the advice on getting an eternal pose?" Sanji asked when they continued on in silence.

"That might be the best idea." Nami agreed, frowning as the pounding of hammers echoed through the streets. "I doubt we'll get any more useful information here."

* * *

"What do you mean you don't have any eternal poses?" Nami had split from Sanji and Robin in an effort to locate an eternal pose. Five hours and a splitting headache later, Nami was using every bit of her will power to keep from jumping over the counter and strangling the poor shopkeeper.

"W-we do." The middle aged man stuttered under Nami's burning gaze. "But they're just for this island. We don't have any leading to any other islands."

"_Why not_?" Nami hissed, causing the poor man to jump.

"N-no one really leaves the island, there isn't a need to. We have a very peaceful life here and every person who landed had their own log pose. It usually takes a week to set here, so no traveler has ever had a problem..." He trailed off, frowning as he tried to recall a time when someone had asked for an eternal pose leading to another island

"You should just wait a week." He smiled kindly when his memory would not serve him.

"We can't do that." Nami said, visibly trembling with rage. "We're trying to get to Merman Island and we can't let the log set here or we'll lose our chance!"

"Merman Island?" He repeated, his eyes wide. "You mean, an island of merpeople?"

"Yes." Nami gritted out.

"Like mermaids?" He pressed.

"_Yes_." Sensing he was already pushing his luck, he took a step back from the counter and quickly pointed to the store across from his.

"Y-you should try that store, I'm sure they would have what you're looking for!"

Without a backward glance or even a word of thanks, Nami stomped out of the store. It took her little time to find Robin and Sanji. Just by looking at their expressions she knew that they had been just as successful as she had been.

"What's with this town?" Nami cried out, hands to her head in frustration.

"All I got was to wait for the log pose to set." Sanji said, letting out a stream of smoke through his lips. "Not a single one had a log pose or eternal pose of any kind."

"Curious, isn't it?" Robin commented with her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes closed in exhaustion. It was rare for the older woman to visibly let her guard down, showing just how much their quest frustrated her. "It's almost as if they don't want anyone to leave."

"And the scent is driving me crazy, I'm so sick of it." Nami said with great ire, dropping her hands to her side with a sigh. "Let's just head back. I don't think I can handle any more of this--we're just going in circles!"

* * *

Coming back to the ship, a few hours after the others had left, Usopp emerged from his workshop, stretching out the kinks in his shoulder as he basked in the rays of the sun. He let out a grateful sigh before he noticed Franky staring over the side of the ship.

"How does the _Sunny_ look?" Usopp asked. The cyborg turned to him, his expression partially hidden by his sunglasses.

"I think navigatin' sis was on to something earlier."

"What do you mean?" Usopp frowned as he stood next to the shipwright, following his gaze to the sides of the ship.

"Cleaning off those barnacles." Franky grinned at him, handing him a scrapper. "Let's remember to do a super job!"

"Cleaning off the... _Oi_!" Usopp shouted as he stared at the many creatures that managed to latch onto the side of their ship. "You expect me to get rid of all of them?!"

"_Sunny_'s our home. You need to take care of her." Franky reminded him, eyes narrowing behind his shades.

"Then what about him?" Usopp snapped as he gestured to the sleeping swordsman on the other side of the ship. "We _all_ live here!"

"Ah, that's true." Franky agreed and headed over to Zoro. "Oi! Roronoa!"

His only answer was an obnoxiously loud snore.

Usopp, used to this behavior, made a running start and sent a flying kick to his head.

"_Wake up, you jerk_!"

Rather than making a satisfying hit, Usopp found himself being pushed up at the last second when Zoro raised an arm to dodge his kick and send him crashing into the sea below.

"_Ah?_" Zoro said over the splash behind him, clearly irritated from being woken from his nap. "What the hell do you want?"

"We're cleaning the ship, now get to it!" Franky commanded.

"What?!"

"You can use your swords, I'm sure they'd be super enough to scrape them off!" Franky posed before giving him a double thumbs up.

"_What_?!" Zoro snarled. "I'm not using my swords to scrape shit off the ship!"

"You either take care of the ship or _get kicked off it_." Franky said, lowering his sunglasses to fix him with an intense glare.

Zoro gritted his teeth, but soon he was standing next to Franky and Usopp at the side of the ship. Dripping with seawater, Usopp grumbled as he set to work. After about five minutes of working on the same barnacle, he began to grow frustrated.

"What are these things using to stick to the ship? Cement?" He asked incredulously, tapping on the barnacle for good measure. Unexpectedly, the organism opened up to squirt a stream of water on the already drenched sharpshooter. Sputtering, Usopp slammed the scrapper onto the barnacle, fuming.

"Why you little--Take this! And that! And that!"

"Damn it, this is taking forever!" Zoro growled, pulling back.

"If you have a better suggestion, I'm all ears." Franky snapped as he continued to scrape.

"Step aside." Was the only warning Zoro gave before he was already in position to attack. Franky looked at him sharply and Usopp fell back, scrambling as far away as possible.

"_Taka-_"

"Wait, _don't damage the ship, idiot_!" Franky shouted, sending a punch to Zoro's head.

The swordsman, momentarily distracted, unleashed more power than he meant to at the ship. Usopp fell to the ground, his mouth dropping in horror. All three men could only stare as the _Thousand Sunny_ now drifted a good hundred yards away from shore.

"Even with the anchors, Zoro's monstrous strength sent the ship flying." Usopp mumbled, running his palm along the length of his face, his nose bouncing back into place through the gap between his fingers.

"_You bastard_!" Franky shouted, sending another punch at him. "Look at what you did, Roronoa! What the hell were you thinking?"

"_It's your fault, asshole_!" Zoro shouted, blocking the attack with his swords. "I was trying to loosen them with an attack but I lost control when you hit me!"

"Because I thought you were going to damage the ship!"

"Oi, oi, knock it off!" Usopp waved his hands, but wisely chose to stay clear of the fight. "We need to get _Sunny_ before she drifts away!"

"_And why is the ship so far away_?" A chilling voice asked, freezing all three men in their places.

"_Ah_." They turned slowly to find Nami only a few feet away, her jaw clenched and her hand raised. She cracked her knuckles, tilting her head back as she surveyed them with a cold glare.

"Well, you see, we were, ah, cleaning the ship and..." Usopp trailed off as Nami walked towards them, stopping only a foot away from them and she smiled, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"I see, so it was an accident?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Usopp said quickly, sweat breaking out on his brow. "It was all just an accident! And the ship's fine, so there's no damage done!"

"Great!" Nami's smiled widened before all pretenses of her controlled anger dropped, sending them all crashing into the ocean with one hit. "_Then hurry up and go get it_!"

* * *

Soon, by Nami's _encouragement_, the_Thousand Sunny_ was back and safely docked near the island. Zoro silently cursed Nami, but knew better to start something. Her short temper seemed to have returned, but upon looking at the other two members, they soon realized that something had happened while they were in town.

"So we're back to square one." Usopp frowned, now in a fresh change of clothes. He crossed his arms over his chest, eyes closed as he began to lose himself in thought. "No log poses? No eternal poses? That really is strange. How can they be that isolated?"

"Who knows?" Sanji shrugged. "You guys can try tomorrow, but we didn't find anything."

"Maybe Straw Hat will have something?" Franky suggested, but the others only sighed, shaking their heads.

They didn't have to wait long before the others returned, shortly after the entire incident with the ship. Usopp and Franky had retreated to their respective workshops while Zoro had resumed his afternoon nap. Robin had been enjoying the afternoon sky as she read one of her newly acquired books when she saw Chopper appear from the side of the ship.

"Welcome back." She smiled, watching as Luffy propelled himself over the railing and Brook jumped over the side, all landing onto the deck at relatively the same time. Sanji appeared from the doorway of the galley and Nami popped out from the other side of the ship from the library.

"And? Did you guys find out anything?" Nami asked expectantly, hands on her hips.

"No." Chopper shook his head sadly, looking exhausted as he fell backwards onto the deck, his tongue hanging out. "Nothing."

"It was a fruitless search, yohoho!" Brook said rather cheerfully, despite the fact that he, too, had collapsed onto the deck, laying on his back.

"Nami!" Luffy, with his endless supply of energy, bounced over to her, grinning from ear to ear. "Let's stay for the festival!"

"We'll see." Nami said in annoyance, pushing her energetic captain's face away from her own. "Our priority is getting information. You _do _want to get to Merman Island, right?"

"Of course!"

"Then we'll try again tomorrow." She said with a sigh, walking over to the side of the ship. She paused, looking back over the deck and silently counted the group, then looked back over the edge of the ship.

"Hey," She called out to them, her brows drawn together. "Where's Gomi?"

"That's actually why we didn't find very much information." Chopper said, sitting up.

"She went missing."

* * *

**AN**: I hope you enjoyed this chapter because it's probably the last one you'll get for a while. If you didn't, then, well, I'm sorry for wasting your time :( As for Gomi, well, I'll explain her a little bit on my profile after a few more chapters. She does play a significant role, but I can't say too much without giving the story away, so please bear with me :) Anyway, I _might_ be able to dish out one more chapter before I start drowning in school work, but I kind of doubt it.

**Additional Notes**: I'm pretty sure the infirmary has a cot. I'm also pretty sure _Sunny_ has two anchors because it has two paws, just like the Foxy pirates' ship! :D I realized I hadn't made Franky say his trademark 'super' or pose at all in the last two chapters so I did it a lot to make up for it. I also realize I probably overdo the whole 'yohoho' and Brook wanting to see the girls' underwear, but it's so fun :x He's such a funny guy.

Anyway, a random note before I let you go (unless you already left :x ), I realized there are _no_ LuNa vampire stories. I know the whole vampire thing is overdone in a lot of other fandoms, but I enjoy a _good_ vampire fic now and then. I might end up writing one myself because no other LuNa fan has taken it upon themselves, but if I do I can guarantee you that it won't be very pretty. I mean, you can tell just by looking at the quality of this story and my other works. So to save yourselves from the horror, someone should write a LuNa vampire fic :D

You know what? I might just do it anyway... but still, if anyone else was planning to, or finds the idea interesting, doitdoitdoit! :D

Isolated island on the Grand Line? Can such a thing be possible? With no eternal poses and pre-set log poses, will Luffy and the others have to leave and hope to chance on another island or even Merman Island itself by relying on their blind luck, or will they get more answers before their last day is up? What of the festival? What is it's significance? And where is Gomi?

Tentative preview on my profile! Tune in next time :) I hope you will!


	4. In The Dark

**AN**: From here on out the humor is going to be sparse, I might be able to put some in here and there, but the story is going to start to get pretty heavy from here on out. LuNa will start to gradually build up :D but still pretty slow going so I must ask again to please bear with me, thanks :D

**Note**: I didn't base _Lilium_on the flower in the OP movie 6. In fact, I completely forgot that flower was called Lily Carnation or something along those lines. No, this _Lilium_ is not some freaky flower that eats people, but that doesn't mean it's any less dangerous :x

Oh and since it's been (way) over month since I last updated, please forgive the lateness and ignore the plotholes. Just jump right over them, they're not that big :D

**Reviewer's Corner**: Sorry guys, this chapter was not my best work, it really killed me to write it. Much thanks to **xXBandwagonXx** I'm glad you find Gomi cute, you probably won't as the story goes on, haha. It really is hard to give everyone limelight. **Ryo Hoshi** なんでやねん！D: **RyougaZell**, yeah the LuNa action is not developing well, lol. I should be ashamed as writer who claims to love this couple. **Silverchild of the winds**, Adventure most likely in the next chapter, unfortunately. **wheathermangohanssj4** (maybe I should just go by heather) Sleep is the best thing in the world. **Darth Luffy**, Sorry, sorry. This chapter will probably be a disappointment to you :( **Confession68**, I burnt out because you read so slow, you big donut butt ho. I'm going to break down your harem and steal them all away. :x

Me? Talk too much? No, of course not.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own One Piece.

* * *

**Downfall**

* * *

**Chapter 3: In The Dark**

* * *

"What do you mean?" Nami glanced at the sun, estimating the amount of daylight they had left before turning back to Chopper. "Did she run away?"

"I guess so." Chopper said, frowning. "We were asking about the island while she was buying shoes and she just disappeared."

"So you spent the entire time looking for her?" Nami asked slowly, her voice beginning to raise an octave. "And you didn't find any information when you know we have only a few more days before the log sets?"

"I... we..." Chopper floundered, looking confused. "I thought it was more important to make sure she was safe!"

"With the three of you..." Nami paused, glancing at Luffy and Brook for a moment, then turned back to Chopper. "With your nose you couldn't find her?"

"I couldn't pick it up with the scent of flowers overpowering it!" Chopper said defensively. "I could barely _breathe_, let alone track her scent."

"And now you've returned with nothing." Nami said tightly, her lips pressing into a thin line. For a moment, Chopper could only stare at her in disbelief before defiance began to creep into his stare.

He stepped forward, ready to speak his mind, but was quickly interrupted.

"Not nothing." Brook broke in, earning everyone's attention and breaking the building tension. He quickly opened the top of his skull and pulled out a bouquet of _Lilium_. "For you, my dear woman!"

"And you?" Nami said stiffly when she fixed Luffy with a glare as she crushed the heel of her boot onto the bouquet that was now shoved into Brook's open mouth as he lay on the ground.

"We found out about the festival!" Luffy said cheerfully. "And as captain, I'm saying we stay!"

"Would you be serious for once?" Nami said angrily, grabbing him by his lips and pulling hard so that they stretched a foot away from his face. Luffy made incoherent noises, his hands twitching around his stretched skin. "We're going to lose the chance to get to _Merman Island_! Who was the one who was so adamant about going there in the first place?"

"But if you don't care anymore, that's fine with me." Nami said unconcernedly, raising her hands as she released her hold on his lips. Luffy's head snapped back when they reverted to their original shape and when he spoke he had a slight lisp.

"We are going!" Luffy grinned, his lips slightly puffy from Nami's abuse. "_After_ the festival."

"Luffy, don't you understand?" Nami snapped. "We have virtually no information on how to get there! We may _never_ get there if we don't find information soon. "

"That's why, after the festival-"

"You _idiot_." Nami grabbed him by his vest, reaching her last nerve. "By the time the festival is over we'll have to leave!"

"But there will be a lot of people at the festival." Luffy provided for her, holding his hat to his head as she continued to shake him.

"What of it?" Nami said, stopping abruptly, but continued to keep a steadfast hold on his vest. Luffy's head hung back for a moment before he swung up to meet her gaze, grinning.

"We can ask the people there." Luffy tilted his head back to look back at their archeologist. "Right?"

"That may be our best chance." Robin agreed with a smile. "There will certainly be a lot of people there. Chances are someone will be able to give us the information we need."

"See." Luffy rocked his head back to meet his navigator's gaze.

"That's still cutting it close." Nami said, releasing her captain. "And there's no guarantee that we _will_ find anyone."

"That's true." Robin agreed.

Nami sighed, placing a hand to her chin in thought. Suddenly an idea occurred to her and she snapped her fingers, turning to Luffy and Chopper.

"Those men from before!"

"What men?" They chorused, slightly taken aback by her sudden change in attitude.

"The one's Gomi stole from." Nami reminded them with a grin. "They didn't seem like locals, did they? I'll put my money on it that they're pirates!"

"Well, they did look like pirates." Chopper agreed hesitantly. "Are there other travelers on the island?"

"I bet there are!" Nami turned to Robin, her eyes shining with new hope. "And _that_'s where the money is."

"I see." Robin said as the crew continued to look back and forth between the two women. "A traveler to this island so far in to the Grand Line gives a high probability that they may have come from the _New World_."

"Exactly! Just like Lola!" Nami bubbled.

"I get it!" Usopp said as he began to catch on. "They'll know about _Merman Island _or at least give us some lead to go on, right?"

"Right." Nami said as Chopper, Luffy and Usopp began to dance around in excitement.

"Good plan." Franky commented before puncturing their balloon with his next question. "Where do we start?"

"That's... the problem." Nami deflated a little. "Aside from those three goons from the other day, I don't think we saw any other travelers."

"We could try at the docks." Robin suggested, then added as an after thought, "And we might want to try the bar again. I'm sure a different crowd of people will be in there."

"That's true." Nami agreed as she recalled how empty the bar had been upon their first visit. "It probably wasn't the best idea to visit it so early in the day. We can go back into town and see what else opens up."

"All right, crew!" Luffy pumped his fist into the air. "Let's get going!"

"Wait, Luffy!" Nami took a step in front of their captain and waved her hands in a gesture to calm his excitement. "It's not even dark yet and we just got back..."

"What?" Luffy frowned in confusion. "The sooner the better, right? Wasn't it you who kept reminding us how little time we have left?"

"I did, but..." Nami tried to think of an excuse, but her tired mind refused to come up with anything plausible enough to even satisfy his simple logic. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Nami turned away, one hand tangling into her hair. "Ah, you're so annoying!"

"What?!" Luffy sounded indignant. "You're really rude, Nami! Come on, let's go!"

Everyone inwardly groaned at the prospect of a long night after their hours of fruitless searching and slowly moved to follow their captain when a loud gurgling of an empty stomach reached their ears.

"Ah." Luffy stopped midway across the deck, turning to them with a hand to his stomach. "Food first. Then we go!"

"_Idiot_!" Nami shouted at him, but silently thanked his insatiable appetite.

"He's right." Sanji agreed, flicking away his finished cigarette over the side of the ship as he adjusted his shoes, tapping the toes lightly on the grass before heading up to the galley. "Can't do anything productive on an empty stomach."

"Dinner, Sanji! Dinner!" Luffy called after him eagerly, both arms in the air. "Meat, meat!"

"I got it."

"After dinner, we'll try again." The others nodded their heads in agreement, taking a moment to catch their breaths as they sat on the grassy deck and enjoyed the cool sea breeze.

"Nami."

The girl in questioned looked down to see Chopper getting to his feet, staring up at her with concern etched in his gaze.

"What is it, Chopper?"

"What about Gomi?"

At that, Nami couldn't help but smile.

"We told her, didn't we? She could leave as soon as it was morning or she could come back." Nami crouched down so that they were at eye level. She then tilted her head to the side with a slight smile. "I guess she chose to leave."

"But, aren't you a little worried?" He frowned. "Her injuries-"

"Chopper, she survived this long without us." Nami's smile faltering as she spoke. She reached over to lightly touch the rim of his hat. "I'm sure she'll be fine on her own."

"But-" He began again, but Nami swiftly yanked his hat over his eyes.

"Just let it go." Nami said firmly as the reindeer struggled to readjust his hat.

Once he had managed to regain his vision, he found Nami already walking away from him. His gaze followed her sadly before shifting over to the rope ladder that hung limply over the side of the ship.

* * *

"All right, let's head out!" Luffy said enthusiastically as he punched at the air for emphasis.

Having had time to replenish their energy with a short rest and food in their system, there was a collective sound of agreement as one by one they descended off the ship. Nami was one of the last when she saw Chopper lingering behind.

"I... I think I'll stay and guard the ship." He said when he caught Nami's stare.

"You sure?" Usopp asked as Franky hopped off the ship.

"Yeah. You guys go ahead. The smell of the flowers really hurts my nose." He said as he rubbed the back of his head with a hoof. "I still need some time to recover."

"Is that so?" Nami asked in a way that Chopper shrunk back, sweat beginning to form.

"Y-yeah."

"Then we'll leave it to you!" Usopp waved to him before swinging himself over the side of the ship to climb down the ladder.

"Right!" Chopper saluted as Usopp disappeared out of sight. He stiffened as he felt Nami's gaze still burning into him and slowly looked up from the brim of his hat to meet her gaze. "You're not going with them?"

"That's not the real reason you're staying behind, is it?" Nami crossed her arms over her chest.

"W-why would you say that?" Chopper asked defensively, holding up an arm as if to shield himself from her intense gaze.

"Hey!" A voice drifted from over the side of the ship, but it was ignored as Nami dropped her arms to her sides, turning away with a sigh.

"Do what you want. We'll be counting on you." Nami waved as she headed to the ladder hanging over the side of the ship.

Chopper visibly relaxed when Nami turned away, but a moment later something seemed to trigger his memory and he cried out, hurrying after her to grab at one of her pants legs.

"Wait! You're not supposed to overexert yourself!" Chopper scolded her. Nami looked down at him in surprise, then grinned as she raised an arm, pumping it in the air once with her hand clenched into a fist.

"I'm fine." Nami plucked the material of her jeans from his hooves. "I guess being stuck on a ship full of guys with monstrous stamina has rubbed off on me."

"Hey!" Luffy's voice had increased in volume, causing the two remaining members to glance over the side of the ship. "Hurry up, Nami! Let's go!"

"And I don't really feel I can relax if I were to leave it them." Nami added as her arm dropped, the energy draining from her in an instant.

"Even if you say that..." Chopper continued to frown. "Just be careful, okay?"

"Aye, aye, Doctor Chopper!" Nami saluted him, grinning when the reindeer's eyes brightened.

"Idiot! Saying that won't make me happy!" Chopper giggled as he swayed from side to side in momentary euphoria. "You jerk!"

"Right, right." Nami tossed over her shoulder as she climbed over the side of the ship and stepped onto the ladder. Just as she came to the railing at eye level, she gave Chopper one last smile.

"Maybe this time you can convince her to stay?"

Before he could open his mouth to respond, Nami had already disappeared out of sight. He quickly ran over to the side of the ship, hoisting himself onto the railing, his hooves dangling over the edge as he found the others already heading off into the darkness, a shiver going down his spine as one by one the faces of his _nakama_ turned away. He waved at their backs enthusiastically even when they disappeared out of sight, only stopping when his arm began to grow tired before slipping down onto the deck.

His nose twitched as he surveyed the deck and soon his eyes began to water. Momentarily alarmed, he rubbed at his eyes as the scent of the sea and the flowers coming from the island was suddenly overcome by the powerful odor of sulfur. He coughed, blinking his eyes rapidly as he moved to rub his nose, but as soon as the odor came, it disappeared. He dropped his hoof in surprise, his vision clearing. He took a deep breath, deep enough to send him into coughing fits, but he could no longer catch the scent of sulfur.

_Was it my imagination_? Chopper thought to himself, glancing out across the deck and into the dark abyss that lay on the other side of the ship.

"Ah!" Chopper stiffened when the realization hit him. "I'm guarding the ship by myself?!"

* * *

As opposite as light and dark, the days and nights of this seemingly quiet island was just as different. The others could only stare in awe at the boisterous atmosphere as they were jostled aside. There were all sorts of shady characters as well as those who had completely let go of their inhibitions.

Sanji blew smoke from his nostrils as he eyed the scantily clad women and Zoro plucked a bottle from the hands of a drunkard who stumbled passed him. It took him a good ten steps before the drunkard realized his bottle was missing, but Zoro had already downed the rest of the contents and tossed it aside before the man could look his way. Another drunken man threw his arms around Luffy and Usopp's shoulders, causing the latter to squeak in surprise. The former merely grinned, looking around at the chaos around them. Franky was pushed against a building when two brawling men tumbled out of nearby bar, just missing Brook who was being handled by two woman as they marveled at his skeletal features, wondering if it were a well made mask.

Nami stood at the rear with Robin, her brow twitching as she took in their surroundings.

"I can't believe this is the same town we were in this morning." Nami finally managed to say.

"Indeed." Robin agreed as the corners of her lips turned up into an amused smile. "Shall we get started?"

"Yeah." Nami quickly regained her composure. "All right. Now remember, we're here to collect information and I don't want to pull an all nighter so let's get what we need and go. Got it?"

"They're not here."

Nami's head snapped to the older woman as she pointed to the street. Nami whirled around, quickly searching the area only to confirm Robin's statement. Resisting the urge to pull at her hair, Nami clenched her jaw.

Who had she been kidding, thinking the others would take this even _remotely_ seriously in this sort of situation?

"Where shall we start?" Robin asked good-naturedly as the chaos around them continued.

"There seems a good of a place as any." Nami said shortly as she jerked a thumb towards the bar that had spilled out the previously brawling men. Robin followed her with no complaint as they entered the bar.

Nami's brow twitched when she found one of their crewmates already inside and drinking from the bar.

"Well, I guess we should just leave it to you to interrogate all the bars, then?"

Zoro began to turn at the sarcastic question, but found himself staring at the stained counter top as pain exploded from both the front and back of his head.

"_What the fuck_?" Zoro snarled as he jerked his head up, throwing off Nami's fist as he held his head in pain.

"I should be asking you that!" Nami countered angrily, her fist still raised and ready to deliver another hit.

"Some of the others are here too." Robin interrupted, breaking the glaring contest between the first mate and navigator as she pointed to table a few feet away.

The young woman frowned as she scanned the bar and Nami blanched to find Usopp, Luffy and Brook eating unabashedly at a table stocked with food.

"W-what do they think they're doing?" Nami hissed, her hands clenching into fists.

Zoro mumbled under his breath before returning to his mug. Just as Nami was taking great strides to bring herself over to their table, Robin's voice managed to reach her.

"It seems there is no charge."

"What?" Nami turned sharply, just a foot away from the table and her arm still rose in anticipation of her next hit. Usopp had noticed Nami's approach and was cowering behind the pile of empty dishes that Brook and Luffy continued to accumulate.

"In preparation for the festival and as a treat for travelers, everything is free of charge." The bartender from earlier grunted as Robin leaned away from the counter, setting an attractive looking drink in front of the dark haired woman.

"Just for tonight?" Nami asked as she headed back to the bar. "At this bar alone?"

"For the first couple of nights before the festival." The bartender said. "It's the whole town."

"You didn't tell us that earlier!" Nami pointed out, frowning.

"Did you pay earlier?" The bartender shot back.

"I... No, I guess not." Nami said as she recalled their earlier visit, but soon her indignation resurfaced as she slammed her palms against the counter top. "Then why the hell didn't you say so? We could have gotten our supplies for free if we had just waited until today!"

"We actually use a lot of our supplies to prepare for the festival. There is still a limit that we can hand out to travelers. Chances are if you waited until tonight you wouldn't have gotten enough." The bartender jerked his head over to the table behind her. "And it seems your friends may be helping us to reach that quota earlier than we would expect to."

_Then that's just your problem, isn't it?_ The retort was itching to jump from her lips, but she wisely swallowed it down and fixed the bartender with a smile.

"So, tell me," Nami smoothed her hands over the bar counter. "What exactly is this festival that has your island going all out for?"

"It's a cleansing ritual." He told her shortly, sliding a mug down the counter top without glancing up at the hand waving for another round.

"Cleansing?" Robin repeated as Nami turned to see her reaction. "The Festival of Lilium?"

"The Festival of Purity." He corrected her, refilling Zoro's mug. "The flower is a symbol of purity. In this world full of pirates and all other kinds of lowlifes, a cleansing is just what our island needs."

"That's a harsh way to look at life." Robin commented lightly, shifting her straw so the ice sunk deeper into her beverage. "Is that why you are trying to entice these 'lowlifes' and pirates?"

"The festival might be able to change them." The bartender glanced up at them and locked gazes with Robin for a moment. He turned back to his dish rag and started cleaning one of his mugs. "Most choose to stick around 'till the very end."

"I'm sure they do." Nami mumbled under her breath.

"I suggest you do the same." He said without removing his gaze from the mug and dishrag in his hands. "Stay and relax. You should just wait until the festival is over."

"We don't have that kind of time." Nami pushed out through gritted teeth, but her jaw slowly relaxed when the bartender glanced up at her, a solemn expression on his face.

"You may be right."

* * *

Chopper sneezed with enough force that had him stumbling across the deck, his back hitting the mast. He let out a whimper, his eyes watering as he raised his hooves to his itching nose. It seemed the sickening scent had returned and had his stomach turning, but that wasn't the only thing causing him discomfort and certainly the least of his worries at that moment.

"Everyone. Why did you leave me alone?" Chopper sniffled as he paced back and forth on the grassy deck, making sure to keep from venturing passed the lighted areas on the ship. Every so often he would glance up into the darkness before shuddering and quickly dart his gaze back onto the deck, his hooves rubbing together in his anxiety.

"I-it's okay. I'm brave. Everyone's counting on me to protect the ship." Chopper stilled his movements, straightening up as he stared out into the darkness determinedly. "There's nothing to be afraid of! I can--_What's that_?"

Chopper jerked in every direction at the sudden noise of what sounded like rapid tapping against wood, his entire body stiff with fear.

"_Wh-who's there_?" He squeaked out, taking cover behind the mast of the ship with his entire body out in the open and only half his face hidden away.

There was no answer as the reindeer continued to sweat through his fur, one hoof pulling away to dig into the pocket of his pants to pull out a golden color ball that was slightly bigger than a marble.

_I'll use a rumble ball. I'll only have three minutes so the minute the enemy reveals himself--_

"Tonakai-san?"

Chopper let out a cry, the rumble ball slipping from his grasp. He gaped as it bounced along the grassy deck, disappearing into the darkness before he slowly turned to glance over his shoulder. A pale face stared back at him from across the deck, freezing the reindeer in place as a hand slowly reached out towards him and a body soon climbed over the side of the ship.

A great cry escaped Chopper as he began to run around the deck, blindly into the darkness and back into the light, tears blurring his vision completely as his heart thundered in his chest. Eventually he lost his footing and with his vision compromised, Chopper slammed into something hard, momentarily stunning him as he fell to the deck.

"To-tonakai-san?" The voice repeated, only instilling more fear into Chopper's heart as he jerked up, only to slam into the solid surface once more.

Chopper moaned in pain, but it was soon overwhelmed by his fear as he heard the footsteps of the intruder approaching him.

"D-don't come any closer!" Chopper jerked up once more, only to cause himself further injury. He grit his teeth to help bare through the pain and rolled over so that he could get back up onto his feet.

"Tonakai-san!" The foot steps stilled and Chopper frowned as a blurry figure slowly came into focus. He stiffened, backing away as he saw what seemed to be a limb reaching out to him. His reaction stilled the hand so that it dropped away, followed by a slightly saddened voice. "Do you not remember me?"

Chopper's frown deepened, the voice did sound familiar. He raised his hooves to rub at his watery eyes, clearing his vision enough so that he could take in the details of the figure before him.

"Gomi!" Chopper cried out, bringing about a new round of tears as he stumbled towards her. "I thought you weren't coming back!"

Whether it were intentional or merely by accident, Gomi stepped back just before Chopper could wrap his arms around her, causing the reindeer to fall flat on his face. She quickly knelt down next to him, helping him back up onto his feet.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Gomi apologized as Chopper looked up at her with his nose running.

"I-idiot! I wasn't scared at all--_What was that_?" Chopper cried out, grabbing onto Gomi's arm and hiding only part of his face behind her back as the rapid tapping noise returned. "I thought it was you!"

"Tonakai-san." Gomi pointed at him. "You're making that noise."

"What?" Chopper blinked, looking down at the area she was pointed to. His eyes widened at the sight of his knees shaking rapidly and knocking together, creating the noise that had him on edge from the beginning. "Oh, it is me."

"You shouldn't frighten yourself so much." Gomi said as Chopper stumbled away from her, reaching down to stop the trembling in his knees. "You will make yourself sick."

"Really?" Chopper looked at her with wide eyes. She nodded and Chopper merely sighed, finally stilling the shaking of his knees. "At least you're here now."

"Are the others not here?" Gomi asked.

"They went into town to find more information." Chopper nodded.

"Oh." Gomi's voice took on a hint of anxiety. "I wanted to show all of you something."

"Show us what?" Chopper looked up at her, his interest perked.

"Let's find the others and I'll show you." Gomi said with a small smile. She began to turn and head back to the side of the ship, but Chopper caught her wrist, causing her to jerk away.

"Where are your shoes?" Chopper frowned, his hoof dropping as he gazed down at her feet, then back up at her face.

Gomi held her wrist to her chest before slowly letting it fall to her side. She glanced down at her feet, the bandages now torn, dirty, and slightly damp. She offered him a hesitant smile.

"I left them on the ground. It's hard to climb up the ladder with them."

"You're lying." Gomi looked at him in surprise at his accusation. "And there are more bruises on your arms. And your neck."

Gomi quickly raised a hand to her neck in surprise.

"It must be the lighting--"

"Gomi. Why did you disappear today?" Chopper interrupted, the brim of his hat covering his eyes.

"I got a little lost--"

"Stop lying!" Chopper cried out sharply, looking up at Gomi with wide eyes. "You ran away!"

There was a long moment of silence as Gomi continued to hold Chopper's gaze. Her expression seemed unreadable, but soon she turned away and started to head to the ladder at the side of the ship. Chopper felt a tightening in his chest, wondering if he had been too harsh in his accusations, casting his gaze to the ground.

"I wouldn't run away." Chopper looked up at Gomi to find her back facing him. She cast her eyes down at the grassy deck. "You all did so much for me, there's no way I'd run away without paying you back somehow."

"But--" Chopper began to argue, but Gomi was already climbing over the side of the ship and onto the ladder.

"We have to find them." Gomi said, her voice taking on a hint of urgency as she reached out a hand to him, beckoning him to follow her.

"I..." Chopper frowned, hesitantly taking a step forward. Gomi nodded to him, urging him closer. Soon he was at the side of the ship, watching her climb down. He glanced at the empty deck as he wriggled over the side. "I'm supposed to be guarding the ship."

"I don't think you have to worry." Gomi said as she jumped passed the remaining two steps, her dark eyes troubled. "I don't think anyone will leave this island until the festival is over."

* * *

His breath was hot and rancid against the ear of a young woman who stood with her back pressed against the glass door to the shop that she had been locking up. In her arms was a case of liquor that she desperately clung to as it was the only barrier between her and drunken pirate now pressing his hands on either side of her head. Her knuckles turned white while she gripped the crate when the pirate chuckled in her ear.

"How about it?" He asked her.

A match was struck.

"Please." She whispered breathlessly, causing the man's grin to widen. "Wait until the festival."

A stream of smoke curled up into the air.

"Why should I wait?" His breath wafted over her, filling her nostrils and watering her eyes as a wave of nausea came over her. "When I can have what I want right--"

The man didn't know what hit him as he lay sprawled at the woman's feet. Rather than feeling relieved, the woman mechanically turned her gaze to the shadow looming over her.

"Piece of shit." Sanji mumbled around his cigarette as he rolled the drunkard aside to give the woman a path to step through. He turned to her, his only visible eye filled with concern. "Are you all right, miss?"

"Yes. Thank you." She slowly relaxed, offering him a smile. Sanji noticed that the color was slowly returning to her knuckles.

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"No, I've never met him before." She stated so simply that Sanji couldn't help but stare.

"Were you interested in him?"

"Not at all." The woman wrinkled her nose in disgust, but quickly dropped the expression as he continued to stare.

"Then," Sanji's brow furrowed down. "Why did you tell him to wait until the festival?"

"The festival absolves one of their sins. It allows them to be reborn." She smiled at Sanji hesitantly. "We do it to cleanse the island. I'm sorry, but I must be going."

Sanji quickly stepped out of the way even as a puzzled look remained on his face. She looked at him in surprise when he took the crate from her. "Please, allow me. I can not merely stand aside and let such a delicate flower like yourself carry such a burden on your own. I would be a disgrace to gentlemen everywhere if I were to let you travel alone in such a vulnerable state."

"Thank you." She repeated, gracing him with another smile that had him swooning. She stepped passed the drunkard, looking over at Sanji one more time as her smile softened. "I hope you aren't someone who needs to be reborn."

"Madam, if being reborn would grant me the opportunity to bask in the light of your heavenly smile, I would be reborn a hundred times over!"

* * *

"The craftsmanship is impressive." Franky commented as he ran his hand along the length of the stage still in the process of being built.

"I'd say, for the amount of time we've put into it." One of the nearby workers agreed, a couple of nails poking from between his teeth as he pounded down one into the wooden board.

"And how long is that?" Franky asked as he adjusted his sunglasses.

"'Bout five days. Week tops." He shrugged, pulling out another nail.

"'Zat so?" Franky nodded in approval as he pushed his sunglasses onto his head. "For your festival, right? That flower thing..."

"Got 'em!" Another man suddenly called out in the background, rolls of papers in his arms as he passed by his fellow workers. They nodded to him, including the man that Franky was talking to.

"Lilium?" The man pulled out another nail, holding it in place before swinging down his hammer, never missing a beat as he continued to converse with Franky. "Yeah. It's tradition so the whole community pitches in. Everyone has a role to play."

"That's what I call _super _ effort!" Franky posed in front of the man, causing a few workers to pause in their work to stare.

"Right." The man answered slowly, hesitant to continue. "It's of great importance to the island, especially in these dark times."

Franky crossed his arms over his chest, nodded in agreement which encouraged the man to go on.

"You see, our island wasn't always this peaceful. There was a lot of fighting and the island was always in complete disconcertion. It came to a point where none of the inhabitants could trust one another, let alone any travelers like yourself. The bloodshed continued for many years until the day a mother lost her child in a meaningless fight. That child held no anger to the one who had shot her or pity for herself, she merely wanted to deliver a flower to her mother in order to stop her tears from the death or husband, that child's father. It was almost a miracle how that tragedy opened their eyes to their actions. We hold this festival in order to preserve that purity and innocence. For that child who's future was taken from her."

The man sighed as he bowed his head for a moment, wondering if he had said too much. He lifted his head in order to apologize to Franky, but was instead stunned speechless to find the other man, who was twice his size, bawling quite openly with his forearm pressed tightly over his eyes.

"_Uuoo_!" Franky sobbed, his next words barely understandable. "What a beautiful story! I, too, see the importance of this festival and can only give you my full support in making it the most successful one yet!"

"Ah, thank you." The man replied hesitantly. He jumped when Franky's sobbing ceased abruptly, although his nose was still running and his eyes red, and he posed by giving the man a double thumbs-up.

"You don't have to beg! I'll definitely give you my support as the number one shipwright on the Grand Line! I'll be at my most _super_ to help you out!"

"But, I didn't ask..." The man trailed off as Franky had already turned his back and helped himself to their supplies. "Um, sir?"

* * *

"What is this?" Nami all but shouted, banging her empty mug against the countertop and making the bartender (at a different bar) wince. "We've gotten nowhere, fast! All the people we've met were either too drunk to string two words together or just looking for a fight and we can't even question them because _those idiots_ don't know how to control their strength and knock them into next week!"

"Indeed." Robin agreed wearily next to her.

"Let's just head back already." Usopp moaned, his face resting against the counter top. "We can try the docks tomorrow."

Zoro merely snorted into his mug, downing the contents as Luffy and Brook held nothing back as they continued to eat to their hearts content.

All four men ("_W-why even me?!" _Usopp hissed) lay in a heap on the bar floor as Nami tossed the mug at the bartender. He scrambled to catch it, sighing in relief when he finally managed to get a firm grip around the mug. Robin nodded to the bartender with a word of thanks as she stepped out after the younger woman.

"This whole _day_ was just a _complete waste of time_." Nami moaned as she ran a hand through her hair, tilting her head back and to the side to loosen the muscles that had tightened throughout the night.

"Not a complete waste." Robin's voice managed to reach her ears, causing her to look over at the dark haired woman in annoyance.

"What do you mean?"

Robin smiled wearily, but pointed in a direction in front of them. Nami frowned, but followed the direction she was pointing in. For a moment, her irritation continued to rise as she found nothing but drunkards littering the street until two familiar figures came into view, causing her eyes to widen.

"Hey, guys!" Chopper cried out, galloping toward them in his walking point form with Gomi on his back. The tiny girl had her arms wrapped around his neck, her eyes closed tightly even as he slowed to a halt in front of the others.

"Oh, it's Chopper!"

Nami started at the new voice, turning around quickly to find Luffy grinning at her. He adjusted his hat while the others emerged from the bar behind him.

"What are you doing here?" Nami narrowed her eyes at the others before turning to Chopper with an equally stern look. He stepped back a bit in surprise. "Who's watching the ship?"

"Ah, but..." Chopper began to sweat as Nami's gaze narrowed, but he felt a weight lifted off his shoulders as Gomi stumbled off of him and onto her feet.

"Careful." Robin said as arms emerged from the ground to steady the young girl.

"I'm sorry." Gomi stiffened at the feel of strange hands on her skin, but forced herself to relax as she turned to them with a weak smile. "I told him to leave the ship."

"Gomi-" Nami started, but Gomi quickly shook her head.

"The ship will be fine. I promise."

Nami cast a dubious look over to Robin, but the older woman's gaze was fixed on Gomi. She turned to the others to find perplexed looks, although Brook's face was a bit harder to read since he was nothing but bones. She frowned and turned her stare back on the little girl.

"She wants to show us something." Chopper cut in, reverting to his brain point form as he stepped up besides her.

"Oh?" Nami crossed her arms over her chest as she fixed the timid girl with a hard stare. "And what's important enough to come here and leave our ship unguarded?"

"I-it's about the festival." Gomi's voice gradually began to lose volume, her eyes downcast. "I thought it might help."

"Is that so?" Robin cut in before Nami could say anything more, crouching down to be at eye level with the young girl. "And what is it that you know?"

"I need to show you." Gomi looked up at Robin for a moment, her confidence building at the kind smile she found before looking up at Nami.

"Oh, all right." Nami relented before turning to the others. "Let's find Sanji-kun and Franky first."

* * *

"How long have we been walkin'?"

"Seems like hours--shit! What the hell did I step in?"

"It's quite dark, isn't it?"

"Doesn't anyone have a light--oh, Sanji! Let's use a match!"

"No fucking way, shithe--_ey_!"

"Just one, sheesh. Ah, there--_Zoro_! _Not that way_!"

"This is _boring_! And I'm hungry!"

"You're always hungry."

"But, this is _bo-o-oring!_"

**Bam**.

"Just keep quiet and keep walking!"

"My nose hurts." The voice was muffled.

"Why don't I sing, then? Does anyone have suggestions? Oh, I know! How about _Forever Lost in the Darkness_?"

"_Don't sing that_! You're just making these up, aren't you?"

"_Yohoho_!"

"This is ridiculous, all right! Hold hands so we don't lose anyone--"

"_Zoro_." The reply was unanimous.

"_Fuck you!_"

"Don't swear in the presence of a young lady, you shitty--"

**Bam. Bam. Bam.**

"Just do it!"

"Yes, Nami-san! Oh, what a delight it would be to touch your hand, even for the briefest of moments--"

"_God damn it_!"

"_Why did you keep hitting me too!?_"

"I had to make sure."

"Oh, what's that over there?!"

"Ah! Stop pulling, Luffy!"

"Oh, your skin is even softer than the petals of a rose, Nami-san--"

"I believe that's my hand, yohoho!"

"_What?!_" Two voices shouted simultaneously.

**Bam**.

"_How could you mistake my hand for his?_"

"Me-Mellorine!"

"Gomi, we've been walking for a long time." Robin finally interjected over the fighting and continuous complaints. "Where are you taking us?"

"I'm sorry. It shouldn't be much farther." Gomi turned to look over her shoulder in the darkness.

"How do you know where we are going in such darkness?" Robin asked, her eyes gradually becoming use to the lack of light, but it was still not enough to navigate safely through the forest.

"The water." She whispered. "Can't you hear it?"

"I can." Chopper said after a moment, his voice muffled as he clamped his nose shut. "The smell is getting stronger, too."

"What smell--Ah." Nami halted for a moment as a wave of nausea hit her, causing the rest in the line to stumble to a halt. "Lilium."

"Is something wrong?" Robin asked as she handed Chopper a handkerchief to help lessen the intensity of the flower's fragrance.

"N-nothing." Nami quickly shook her head, closing her eyes tightly. "Let's keep moving. I don't want to be out here all nigh-Ah!"

There was a collective inhalations of breaths as a bright light could finally be seen peeking through the cluster of trees that lay ahead. Rather than quickening their pace to the destination they had long since wanted to reach, the Straw-Hat crew became hesitant and cautious in their steps. Just as they were about the break through the vegetation and into the illuminated area Chopper, who was at the head of the group, tripped over a root sticking up from the ground. An inevitable chain reaction followed as the entire crew fell into a pile out in to the clearing.

"It's beautiful." Robin was the first to speak as she had managed to break free before becoming entangled with the others.

"What is?" Nami asked as she gave a good kick to Sanji's face, an elbow to Zoro in the gut and stepped onto Luffy's hand as she extracted herself from the pile. She didn't have to wait for an answer, stiffening at the sight before her. The complaints of her crew members faded as they could only stare in equal amazement at the scene they were greeted with.

There were literally thousands of flowers illuminating the field with an eerie glow. There in the middle of the field of flowers was a towering willow tree. Its roots were twisted and dug deep into the earth, ending into the bank of a lake that stretched out farther than the light could reach. Balls of fiery light floated gently with the soft night breeze just a few inches above the flowers. Nami felt a chill run down her spine and looked up to the sky to find the moon high above them, larger and brighter than she's ever seen before.

Usopp sighed as he leaned back, working the kinks from his shoulder. "This is nice and all, but did we really come all the way here to see a bunch of glow-in-the-dark flowers?"

"Let's catch them!" Luffy suddenly suggested as his hand reached out to grab the nearest ball of light. Just as he was about to enclose his fingers around it, a small body suddenly impacted with his, making him yelp in surprise and stumble back into Zoro.

"Oi!" Zoro stumbled for a moment before pushing back against his captain.

"What was that for?" Luffy frowned, directing his question at the little girl now staring at him with wide eyes.

"You can't catch them!" She took a step back, her arms stretched on either side of her as if to block them from coming any closer. "They're the souls of the dead!"

"They're fireflies." Usopp corrected her upon closer inspection, wincing when Sanji elbowed him in the stomach.

"Souls of the dead?" Robin repeated as the others made their own observations on the balls of light. "Who told you that?"

"She told me." Gomi began to point in the direction of the large tree, but stopped short when she realized no one was there. "A little girl I met earlier."

"A little girl?" Franky repeated, stopping short as he turned to Gomi.

"Yes." Gomi said quietly, looking around as if she were searching for the girl. "She said that something is going to happen during the festival and that we shouldn't go."

"Why's that?" Usopp asked slowly, sweat already beginning to break out on his brow,

"I... I don't know." Gomi stopped and looked up at the group. Seeing their skeptical looks, Gomi cast her eyes down to the ground. "I'm not lying."

"No one said you were." Sanji said in a soothing voice, stepping forward in an attempt to placate the girl. Before he could reach out to touch her shoulder, Gomi suddenly turned and began stepping through the flowers, sending the tiny balls of light in all directions in order to stray out of her path. "Wait!"

"She was here!" Gomi insisted, her voice started to become softer as she continued to hurry through the field of flowers. "Right under the tree."

They looked at one another, skepticism and doubt still written in their expressions, but soon they began to step in to the field of flowers after her.

"W-wait!" Usopp halted just before he entered the ring of flowers. "If they're the souls of the dead we shouldn't be stepping all over their home-"

"Move." Zoro said before unceremoniously pushing the sharpshooter into the flowers. "They're dead. I don't think they'll care. Just ask Brook."

"Of course they wouldn't mind! I'm sure they must be overwhelmed with joy by the prospect of visitors to their home!" Brook laughed as he stepped into the flowers, tipping his hat to the many fireflies that floated around him. "Although, if this is their grave that were are immediately desecrating, they may become vengeful spirits that will latch on to our very souls and make sure we never leave nor see the light of day again. Although, I've no eyes so I don't see very much!"

Chopper and Usopp screams drowned out Brook's laughter. They latched onto Zoro, the closest body they could find, as they were already several meters into the flowers.

"_I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry_-" Usopp sobbed as he clutched one of the swordsman's legs just as Chopper cried out his apologies to the fireflies, clinging to Zoro's face.

"_Are you trying to kill me, you bastards?_" Zoro shouted as he managed to pry Chopper from his face and shook Usopp off his leg.

"It's been a while since I've seen a firefly. Let alone so many in one place." Franky commented as he pushed back his sunglasses.

"It seems ethereal, doesn't it?" Robin smiled as she held out a hand, watching as a single firefly perched itself on her palm.

Luffy jumped into the field of flowers, causing them to scatter high up into the air. Chopper and Usopp cried out in despair at the thought of the possible threat of vengeful spirits latching onto them during their trek through the flowers, but it was all drowned out by the sound of their captain's laughter.

"This is great!" Luffy said. He arched back to stare up at the sky and the little balls of light floating a few feet above their heads. He reached out to the sky without using his powers, his fingers spread out as if preparing to catch them as they started to float back down. "It's like catching stars!"

"Catching stars?" At this Chopper immediately pushed his fears away and looked up, the tiny lights reflecting in his dark eyes. The handkerchief that Robin had handed to him earlier was now stuffed up both his nostrils and he managed to pant out, "You're right!"

"Let's catch them!"

"H-hey!" Usopp stumbled towards his captain, eyes wide with fear. "Didn't you hear what she just said? These are the souls of the dead!"

"Oh." Luffy blinked at Usopp, then grinned. "Let's catch them!"

"_Oi_!"

"This would be the closest you'd get to the ridiculous notion you had of catching ghosts at _Thriller Bark_." Sanji said as he resisted the urge to pull out a cigarette by stuffing his hands into his pockets.

As the others continued to play with the fireflies, Gomi had reached the willow tree. She stopped short at one of it's larger roots before climbing up. She ignored the sharp stabbing pain in her foot and hands as the bark and other stray branches ripped through her bandages, leaving behind a trail of red stains. She managed to find her footing before walking over to the trunk of the tree, looking up into the branches high above. She as met by the site of hundreds of fireflies clustered overhead. Clenching her hands into fists briefly, Gomi reached to the closest hold she could reach.

"Hey!"

Gomi let out sharp exhalation when she was seized around the waist and pulled from the tree. She was set down onto the ground and pair of hands pulled away. She turned around to find the towering form the Straw Hats shipwright frowning down at her.

"What are you trying to do?"

"Climbing the tree." Gomi said simply.

"Whatever for?" Brook asked just as the others began to gather around.

"That's where she was last time." Gomi said as she pointed up.

"She?" Robin stepped closer to the tree, her hand brushing against the bark as she used it to guide her and looked up into the cluster of fireflies high above. "You mean the little girl you mentioned earlier?"

Gomi nodded slowly. Robin glanced over at her to catch her response before looking up, her brows creasing together. Even if the child had been agile, there was no possible way she could have gotten up there on her own.

While the others had gathered at the large willow tree, Nami had yet to step into the field of flowers. She had her arms crossed over her chest, her hands tightening in their grip around herself as she stared at the offending organisms. It glowed softly in the darkness, it's soft petals beckoning for her touch. It's pristine white color seemed to mock her, making her all the more aware of her flaws and the sins buried deep in her heart. She clenched her jaw, not one to be mocked by a mere flower as she forced herself to take a step closer.

"_Do you want to see the island of lilies, Nami?_"

Nami froze, rearing back at the voice from her past as she stared at the flowers with wide eyes. She clenched her hands into fists at her sides in frustration, stepping back. She couldn't step into those flowers. There was no way she could make at through without being flooded by those memories. The scent alone nearly drove her mad, how would she fare if she were stuck in the middle of it all?

"Nami-san?"

Nami jumped at the sound of her name, looking up to find the others looking back at her. Gomi was waving, beckoning her over.

"What's wrong, Nami-san?" She called out, but it barely surpassed a whisper in Nami's ears.

"Sorry." Nami smiled at them sheepishly, waving back half-heartedly. "I think I'll stay here."

"Why?" Usopp called back to her, frowning. "Don't tell me your afraid of the bugs hiding out in the flow--_Ow!_"

"Shut up, you shitty long-nose!" Sanji had hit Usopp on the head with his foot, a little more on edge from his missing nicotine and his fear of insects.

"What.. Oh!" Nami's smile immediately brightened as she nodded her head vigorously. "That's it! The fireflies are a little too much for me, so I'll just stay here!"

_Thank you, Usopp_! Nami thought to herself in relief.

At hearing this Sanji turned to Nami, his eyes filled with love and sudden hope as he frolicked through the flowers toward her. "Oh, my dear sweet princess, you need not fear for your knight in shining armor will be more than happy to assist you! I shall carry you across this field like a bride over a threshold--"

"_That's_ not necessary." Nami put emphasis on her first word as she slammed a fist into Sanji's face just before he could scoop her up in his arms.

"Nami, Nami!" Nami blinked at the sound of her name being called so excitedly, turning only to find Luffy's hands cupped together and being shoved under her nose. "Look, look!"

"What are you doing?" Nami grabbed his wrist, pushing it down as Luffy continued to bounce around like a child, grinning from ear to ear.

"I caught one!" He exclaimed, opening his hands to reveal the tiny firefly resting on his palm. She blinked in surprise, still holding onto his wrists just as the firefly began to rise up as if sensing that it was no longer enclosed within Luffy's hands. They both watched as it drifted up high above their heads before joining the cluster of fireflies over the flowers.

"Ah!" Luffy cried out, scaring Nami into releasing his hands as he turned to the flowers. He turned back on his navigator swiftly, staring at her in dismay. "You let it get away!"

"I let it... What?" Nami quickly recovered, a frown on her lips at his accusation. "You're the one who let it go!"

"You shitty rubber man!" Sanji brought down the heel of his foot on Luffy's head. "Didn't you just hear what Nami-san said about the fireflies?"

"They're souls!" Luffy corrected Sanji when he pushed his leg from his hand, pouting.

"Souls? They're just a bunch of shi--" Sanji quickly stopped himself, glancing over at the willow tree so see the others watching their exchange. He remembered the youngest member of his audience and turned back to Luffy before pulling out a cigarette, unable to quell his craving. "Right. Souls."

Nami let out the breath she was holding, glad that their attention was diverted. She looked back at the flowers now covered in the early morning dew. The sight and smell still had her stomach turning, causing her to turn away so the others would not see her raise her hand to cover her mouth. Robin noticed the Nami's strange behavior and turned to Gomi with a soft smile.

"Perhaps we should call it a night." Robin offered her hand to the young girl when she turned to her in surprise. "Your friend may turn up at the festival."

"No!" Robin could only look on in surprise as the young girl took hold of her hand, shaking her head from side to side rapidly. "You can't! You must stay hidden during the festival."

"Hey." Zoro stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as Gomi froze in her place. "Do you know something you're not telling us?"

His voice seemed to break through Gomi's momentary panic as she quickly dropped her hands from Robin as if she had been burned, cradling to her chest as she stepped back, shaking her head once.

"Now, now." Usopp stood in front of Gomi, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "We're all just tired and I'm sure that--"

"I just have a really bad feeling." Gomi spoke up suddenly. She turned to Robin, her hands still clutched closed to her chest as she spoke quietly. "You said I couldn't have survived this long by acting like a child. I rely on my feelings and because of that I've survived up to this point."

"I have this feeling that something bad will happen during the festival." Gomi cast her gaze down to the ground, her voice slowly rising in volume as she clenched her eyes shut. "Just like how I _felt_ that you weren't bad people. You are pirates, but I could tell that you aren't bad people. So please..."

Her voice trailed off to a bare whisper. "Please stay away from the festival."

"What are you talking about?"

Gomi snapped her watery gaze up to find the captain of the crew stepping towards her, a frown on his face.

"Festivals are supposed to be fun." Luffy said as he pursed his lips. "What could be bad about that?"

"I... I don't..." Gomi floundered for a moment. "It's a feeling..."

"Ah, so a mystery feeling?" Luffy nodded, crossing his arms over his chest before turning to her with a grin. "Don't worry! Festivals are fun. You'll see."

"Captain-san." Gomi stared at him in amazement. "You don't understand. I feel as if something bad will happen because of the festival. You--everyone might get hurt--"

"Don't worry, don't worry!" Luffy grinned, uncrossing his arms before reaching out to Gomi. "We're strong! We won't get hurt that easily."

Gomi stepped back in alarm when Luffy reached out her, but he managed to grab hold of her wrist, turning it so that her palm was upturned. He then reached out with his other hand, enclosed in a fist, over her upturned palm before uncurling his fingers and pulling away. Gomi stared at the bright ball of light that hovered in her palm before slowly ascending up to the cluster of fireflies high above her head. She followed the path of the firefly before looking back at Luffy, a look of wonder in her eyes.

"It is rather later." Robin said as she turned to Chopper and gestured towards Gomi. "And I believe we may have to re-bandage our guest."

"Ah!" Chopper cried as he caught sight of the trail of blood Gomi had left that stood out vividly on the white flowers at her feet. "You ripped your bandages!"

"I-I'm sorry." Gomi stuttered, looking down at the trail she had left in bewilderment. "I didn't even notice--"

She gasped when Chopper gathered her up in his heavy point form, placing her on his shoulders.

"Wait, I can wal--Ah!" Gomi's mouth was filled with leaves as Chopper started to walk through the field of flowers, accidentally brushing Gomi against the low hanging branches of the willow tree.

"Oh, sorry Gomi!" Chopper said sheepishly.

"No, wait!" Gomi turned, even as she clung to his pink hat tightly in order to keep her balance, her face extremely pale as she saw the others following suit. "She said--"

"I'm sure your friend is probably fast asleep in a nice warm bed by now." Usopp said as he stretched his arms high above his head, rolling his shoulders in an attempt to loosen his sore muscles. "And I think we should do the same."

"That sounds like a splendid idea." Brook agreed, twirling his cane around his wrist bone. "And may I suggest we partake in a snack before settling down for bed?"

"Oh, good idea, Brook!"

"Who the hell would cook for you shitty bastards at this hour?"

"_Eh?!_" Luffy pouted "C'mon, Sanji!"

"No."

"But, Sanji--"

"_No_."

"Knock it off!" Nami's voice cut in sharply, all other arguments ceasing as she took to the head of the group. "We're going back to the ship and getting some rest. Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am." Came the unanimous reply before starting on their long trek back to the ship.

"You're planning to go to the festival, aren't you?" Gomi asked Chopper quietly as the voices of the others started to fade in the background.

"Well, it's all up to Luffy." Chopper said carefully, not wanting to upset the already frazzled little girl.

"Have you even been to a festival before?" Robin asked as she walked behind them.

"No." Gomi glanced over her shoulder at the older woman. Robin offered her a kind smile and Gomi managed a small one in return. Her gaze then shifted to the field of flowers and the giant willow tree that continued to become farther and farther away before they stepped through the trees and into the forest, hiding it entirely from view.

"It's really fun!" Chopper said excitedly. "There's lots of food and games and candy floss! There was one time when we had a tournament with these pirates where we had a lot of--"

Chopper's words seemed to bring Gomi back to the present as she turned around, tightening her grip on his hat as she looked down to watch him speak. His face was bright and his eyes full of excitement that it was impossible for her not to feel his infectious anticipation. She smiled and nodded as she let him regal her with his memories.

As the Straw-Hat pirates disappeared out of sight, a sudden gust of wind blew, shaking it's branches. The sound of the lake's gentle currents bringing waves to lap at the willow's roots drowned out the steady dripping of liquid hitting the surface of the water. With each drop the water near the tree was dyed a rich, ruby red that spread out across the surface, originating from under a thick, low hanging branch. Tangled up in the leaves just out of sight was a hand that was slightly curled and covered with blood that continued to taint the crystalline lake. For the briefest moment, the hand seemed to twitch with another gust of wind, causing a disturbance in the study rhythm of blood hitting the surface of the lake.

* * *

**AN:** This chapter took forever. I should be the queen of slow development. They need to get off the damn island.


End file.
